The first game of the night saw the Alabama State Hornets get past the Saint Francis U Red Flash 70-68 in a dramatic match.
Amarr Knox led the Southwestern Athletic Conference champions in scoring with 16 points. That included the game-winner, as he caught a deflected full-court pass and converted from under the basket with 0.7 seconds left.
Despite holding a lead of five points at half-time, the Red Flash, out of the Northeast Conference, could not hold onto their advantage. They were even leading by six points midway through the second half. In the end, they fell agonizingly short.
Next for Alabama State will be the Auburn Tigers, who are the overall number one seed in the tournament. That takes place on Thursday.
Tuesday night's other First Four game saw the North Carolina Tar Heels dominate the San Diego State Azteces 95-68.
While many questioned whether the Atlantic Coast Conference team should even be in the field this year, they prevailed in a convincing fashion. Seth Trimble got 16 of his team's points as four different players reached double digits.
It was not really a close contest as UNC had went up by 24 points by the half. At one point in the second half, the lead was as high as 40. Fortunately for them. they were able to rest some of their starters for the final few minutes of the match so they could have fresher legs for their first round match on Friday versus the Ole Miss Rebels.