When I looked at my TV listings for last night, my original thought was, “March Moronitude.”

Here we had Michael Beasley going up against O.J. Mayo in a meeting of two of the top five pro prospects in college hoops, and instead CBS was sticking me with Duke against some college called Belmont. Couldn’t they show us something more competitive — like, say, pro wrestling?

Instead, we got treated to one of those rare moments that makes March Madness so compelling. A school nobody had ever heard of faced impossible odds and yet, somehow, used scrappy effort, hot shooting, and the occasional break to nearly do the unthinkable. Instead of a one-sided laugher, the Dukies didn’t escape with a 71–70 win until Justin Hare’s heave from just inside halfcourt bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

That Belmont ultimately fell short hardly matters. This game symbolized what’s so compelling about the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament. No other sport offers such tempting David versus Goliath matchups, and it’s proven to be an environment where David occasionally walks out with the W.

This one was what you’d call a stealth upset bid — it never seemed particularly possible until the final 10 minutes. The Dukies had a 42–35 halftime lead and upped the bulge to 10 early in the second half. But the Bruins went on a shocking 17–5 run to claim the lead on Alex Renfroe’s three-point play with 11 minutes and 1 second left.

Back and forth they went from there, and when Henry Harris grabbed a rebound of Gerlald Henderson’s missed jumper with 54 seconds left and Belmont up one, it seemed we might see one of the most shocking upsets in tournament history.

Belmont had been almost perfect tactically through the first 39 minutes, but things degenerated for them down the stretch. Coming out of a time-out after Harris’s rebound, the Bruins made a classic error by focusing too much on running the clock and not enough on getting a good shot — which also turned out to give them almost no time on the game-ending possession moments later.

After the inevitable forced brick in traffic at the end of the shot clock, Duke’s Gerald Henderson quickly took the rebound the other way for a layup to put the Blue Devils back up a point … making everyone wonder why the Dukies hadn’t been able to do that the rest of the game. Henderson, incidentally, was the only Blue Devil to score in the final seven minutes. Weirdly, Belmont didn’t use a time-out on the next trip, opting for a forced runner by Justin Hare with seven seconds left and being fortunate to get possession on a held ball on the rebound. After finally taking a time-out, a botched in-bounds play on an attempted lob resulted in a turnover.

Fortunately for the Bruins, DaMarcus Nelson missed a free throw and the Bruins immediately called time-out. But having 2.5 seconds to go the length of the court was a daunting obstacle, and there would be no Laettner moment on this night, as Hare’s dribbling runner hit backboard and rim before bounding off.

Nonetheless, give the Bruins credit. They made Duke pay for their aggressive denial on the wings by using back-door cuts and good floor spacing, opening driving lanes for Renfroe and several kick-out 3s for Andy Wicke (who was 4-for-5 on the night). As for the Dukies, they’ll need to tighten up the perimeter D and figure out how to get more interior scoring if they’re going to advance past this weekend.

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As I mentioned, the Duke-Belmont showdown was so riveting that it pushed the Mayo-Beasley showdown well into the background. Perhaps that was a good thing, as it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Neither player scored in the first 10 minutes and Beasley spent much of the first half in foul trouble after picking up two quickies.

Instead, it was Kansas State’s Bill Walker who stole the show. Walker was one of the most athletic players in the country before suffering a serious knee injury last season, with many scouts comparing him to the Nets’ Vince Carter. Yesterday’s effort, and some other recent ones like it, proved he still has plenty in the tank. He scored 12 of Kansas State’s first 21 points to give them a 10-point halftime lead despite Beasley’s early fouls, and the Wildcats never looked back.

Mayo had a rough night, shooting for 6-for-17, so if this indeed his last game as a collegian he probably won’t carry fond memories of his NCAA Tournament experience. Beasley, on the other hand, picked up where Walker left off after halftime. He only had five points in the first half but finished with 23 — while only taking 12 shots.

One particular sequence late in the first half showed why NBA scouts are salivating over him. Although USC was running multiple defenders at him every time he caught it, Beasley got free at the left side foul line with a quick cut, took one hard dribble left, then spun back to his right. He shot the ball right-handed from about eight feet — he’s a lefty — and put it up soft enough to absorb contact and still get a kind bounce for a three-point play.

Needless to say, with talents like Beasley and Walker, Kansas Sate is far from the typical No. 11 seed, and I remain mystified by the tournament committee’s decision to seed them this low. The ‘Cats next face the winner of the Wisconsin-Fullerton State game, and if it does end up being the No. 3 seeded Badgers, they’ll have plenty to worry about come Saturday. While most of Thursday’s games were blowouts, two others were compelling. No. 3 Xavier would be Duke’s opponent in the Sweet 16 if seedings hold, and they weren’t real impressive either. The Musketeers trailed by 11 in the second half against No. 14 Georgia before the Bulldogs – who played four games in four days, including two the same day, to win the SEC last weekend – understandably ran out of gas late in the game. Xavier took care of business from there, 73-61, but it was hardly impressive.

Finally, my Cinderella pick Marquette overcame a dominating effort from Kentucky’s Joe Crawford (35 points) to win 74–66 and advance to a second-round matchup with Stanford. The No. 6 Eagles were fortunate Crawford didn’t get much help — only two other Wildcats made a basket.

jhollinger@nysun.com