Carsen Edwards scored 26 points as third-seeded Purdue recorded a 61-48 victory over 14th-seeded Old Dominion on Thursday in an NCAA Tournament South Region first-round game at Hartford, Conn.

Matt Haarms scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half for the Boilermakers (24-9), who advanced to face reigning national champion Villanova in a second-round contest on Saturday. The sixth-seeded Wildcats posted a 61-57 win over 11th-seeded Saint Mary's earlier Thursday.

Purdue point guard Nojel Eastern, who started every game for the team this season, turned his ankle in pregame warm-ups. He was replaced in the lineup by freshman Eric Hunter Jr. before entering the contest early in the second half.

Ahmad Caver scored 19 points, and B.J. Stith added 10 of his 14 points in the second half for the Monarchs (26-9), who finished with a season-low 19 points in the first half. Old Dominion was playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2011 after capturing the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles.

Caver kept the Monarchs within striking distance by drilling a 3-pointer with 6:18 remaining in the first half, but Old Dominion misfired on its last 11 shots. Purdue went on an 11-0 run to take a 32-19 lead into intermission.

The Boilermakers kept their foot on the gas in the second half, with Ryan Cline, Haarms and Edwards each draining a 3-pointer in a 2 1/2-minute stretch as the advantage ballooned to 20 at 43-23.

Stith drilled a jumper and a straightaway 3-pointer to ignite an 11-4 run for the Monarchs, but the club briefly halted its momentum with offensive fouls on consecutive possessions.

Grady Eifert, who is the younger brother of Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert, sank a 3-pointer to push Purdue's lead to 50-34.

Xavier Green drilled a 3-pointer and added a layup as part of the Monarchs' 9-2 run to trim the deficit to nine at 55-46 with 4:26 to play. Old Dominion went cold from the floor, and Edwards sandwiched four free throws around an emphatic dunk from Haarms to seal the win.

--Field Level Media