PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Who knew that all this time Ohio used the regular season as a warm-up act?

The Bobcats' time to shine is March.

The MAC tournament champion Bobcats, who had a losing record in conference play, have found their way in the only month that matters and now boast an NCAA tournament win for the first time in 27 years.

Georgetown might want to skip the tourney next time it's in Providence.

Armon Bassett scored 32 points to lead the 14th-seeded Bobcats to a convincing 97-83 win over the Hoyas in the Midwest Regional.

How about a standing O for Ohio!

"We may not be a better team, just got to be a better team on a given night," Bassett said.

In early March, no one expected Ohio (22-14) to be in this position. The team had just finished a 7-9 season in Mid-American Conference play and entered the conference tournament as the ninth seed.

Four wins later, Ohio was in the 65-team field.

Forty minutes later, the Bobcats are in the second round where they will play Tennessee, which earned a 62-59 win over San Diego State.

Coach John Groce wouldn't call it the biggest win in team history.

"I certainly think it's one of them," he said. "What it does more than anything is, I think it gives tremendous belief with our guys in what we're doing, in our system."

Ohio seized the lead early on its 3-point shooting and never had a serious letdown the rest of the way. The Hoyas (23-11) made a small run in the second half that cut a 19-point lead down to seven.

No worries. D.J. Cooper, who scored 23 points, made a 3 to the delight of all those green-clad fans who made the trip and cheered them on the whole way. The Bobcats cruised from there and have won six straight games.

Ohio joined Murray State, which knocked off Vanderbilt 66-65 at the buzzer, as the two big upset winners Thursday.

"There were some times where the only people that really believed in what we were doing and where we were headed were the guys in our locker room and our administration," Groce said.

Chris Wright led the third-seeded Hoyas (23-11) with 28 points. Georgetown coach John Thompson III said a day earlier his team was playing their best basketball of the season. It certainly didn't extend into the tournament opener.

"We really thought we could make some noise in this tournament," Georgetown guard Austin Freeman said. "We really didn't imagine we would be one-and-done."

The Hoyas had a rough time in Providence back in 1989, too, when they narrowly beat No. 16 seed Princeton 50-49. At least they won in '89.

Old Dominion 51, Notre Dame 50

At New Orleans, Carleton Scott's 3-pointer rattled out in the closing seconds, and 11th-seeded Old Dominion delivered the first upset of the NCAA tournament when it stunned sixth-seeded Notre Dame in the South Regional.

The Fighting Irish rushed the ball up the court as the clock wound down, but Scott's attempt to tie the game didn't fall and Luke Harangody's putback at the buzzer wasn't enough.

Frank Hassell scored 15 to lead Old Dominion (27-8), which had not won an NCAA tournament game since beating Villanova in triple overtime in 1995 as a No. 14 seed.

Harangody was held to four points for the Irish (23-12), all in the final minute, while Ben Hansbrough scored 17.

Notre Dame built a nine-point lead in the first half and still led 30-22 early in the second before the Monarchs used a 9-0 run to take the lead.

Washington 80, Marquette 78

At San Jose, Calif., Washington's remarkable late-season run has extended right into the NCAA tournament, thanks to a big shot by the Huskies' senior leader.

Quincy Pondexter drove for a tiebreaking bank shot with 1.7 seconds left, and 11th-seeded Washington rallied for a victory over Marquette in the first round of the East Regional on Thursday night.

Pondexter scored 18 points in his school-record 134th game, and Isaiah Thomas had 19 as the Huskies (25-9) won their eighth straight in dramatic fashion, roaring back from a 15-point deficit with 13Z\x minutes left.

Washington made two late defensive stops before Pondexter drove by Jimmy Butler from the perimeter and scored the winner.

Lazar Hayward missed a half-court heave at the buzzer for the sixth-seeded Golden Eagles (23-11), who didn't manage a field goal in the final 4:33.