College basketball fans on the Hilltop and in College Park are pleased, while the ones in Foggy Bottom probably wish they hadn't turned on the TV. The Hoyas pounded Belmont and will face Boston College, while the Terps handled Davidson and will face Butler, and the Colonials were clobbered by Vanderbilt, losing by 33. And over at the DCist Reader-Staff Bracketfest, Kyle Mahaney is in the lead, having picked every game except Butler over ODU. On with the recaps:

Terps Tame Wildcats
Maryland kicked off March Madness with an 82-70 victory over Davidson in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Terps twice battled back from eight-point deficits against the scrappy Wildcats, who got 30 points from freshman Stephen Curry, son of former NBA player and Virginia Tech star Dell Curry.

Maryland eventually wore down Davidson, holding a 49-31 advantage on the glass. The Terps were led by Mike Jones' 17 points, and all five Maryland starters scored in double figures. They were joined by Bambale Osby, who contributed 11 points and six rebounds in 21 big minutes off the bench.

Maryland advances to play Butler, who were 57-46 winners over Old Dominion yesterday. The Bulldogs made headlines earlier in the year by winning the preseason NIT, beating Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee, and Gonzaga along the way. They limped to the finish line, however, losing three of their last five to share the regular season title of the Horizon League with Wright State, then lost in the conference finals those same Raiders. Unlike Davidson, who likes to push the tempo, Butler will look to slow the pace down against the bigger, faster Terps.
-Hayden Alfano

Hoyas Pull away from Bruins
Over in the East region, Georgetown survived a bumpy first five minutes to handle Belmont.

After trailing 11-4, the Hoyas scored the next 11 points -- eight by Jeff Green -- to take a lead they never relinquished. Jessie Sapp took advantage of a defense designed to stop Green and Roy Hibbert to score a career-high 20 points, highlighted by four-of-six shooting from deep. Green added 15 points and Hibbert notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.

Georgetown moves on to play Boston College, who beat Texas Tech 84-75 in yesterday's first round. Like the Hoyas, the Eagles are an exacting offensive team, and have three players to worry about: small forward and Big East ACC player of the year Jared Dudley; point guard Tyrese Rice; and shooting guard Sean Marshall. That trio combined for 66 points in their opening round win. The one thing BC doesn't have is a 7'2" guy, so Georgetown should look to Hibbert early and often on Saturday. However, the Eagles have plenty of bodies who won't back down to run at the big fella, so he'll need to come ready to play on Saturday.
-Hayden Alfano

GW Drubbed by Commodores
Before the game began, the PA announcer in Sacramento announced the first starter as Cheyenne Moore, who's been out for the season since October with an injury. After that, things only got worse. Vanderbilt started with a three point "torrent" for which the Colonials had no answer, and as the game went on, GW was beaten in nearly statistical category, as well as the more general "coaching."

GW's pressure defense had no effect on the Commodores, which led to the Colonial offense stagnating. The Foggy Bottomites would dribble around and eventually throw up a bad shot in the halfcourt, and more often than not, Vandy would snag the rebound and then hit a three. GW shot .271 for the game, while Vanderbilt had more open shots than a firing squad and converted them, hitting 10 of 16 three pointers in the first half. GW only scored 20 in the first half, and were down by 25 when twenty minutes elapsed.

GW managed to beat their first half total in the second, scoring 24, but it was wasn't nearly enough, as the game ended 77-44. GW had no scorers in double figures in the school's worst ever postseason defeat and lowest scoring total of the year. On the bright side, at least GW has been to three straight tournaments, and all the walk-ons got to play a little. And there's always the women's team.