RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The little team from the Big Apple was every bit as good as promised.

Led by 26 points from hotshot guard Luis Flores, 12th-seeded Manhattan defeated fifth-seeded Florida 75-60 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday – an “upset” that really wasn’t much of an upset at all.

“I know America’s going to loo0k at it as an upset, but behind closed doors we don’t,” Manhattan forward Dave Holmes said. “We know we can play with any team on any night.”

Barely beaten in the first round last year by eventual champion Syracuse, Manhattan (25-5) won its first tournament game since defeating Oklahoma in 1995.

Coach Bobby Gonzalez, celebrating his 40th birthday, insisted there was no way his Jaspers – who play in 2,500-seat Draddy Gymnasium that’s actually in the Bronx – would feel overwhelmed in the big tournament against a big-time team from the Southeastern Conference.

The Gators (20-11), ranked first in the country in December, failed to make it out of the first weekend of the tourney for the fourth straight time since they made the national finals in 2000.

Coach Billy Donovan tore into his players, citing their lack of competitiveness for the lopsided loss.

Wake Forest 79,

Va. Commonwealth 78

RALEIGH, N.C. – Wake Forest is through to the NCAA tournament’s second round – barely.

Chris Paul had 22 points and seven assists, and Justin Gray added 15 points Thursday to lead the fourth-seeded Demon Deacons past 13th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth 79-78.

Jamaal Levy had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Demon Deacons (20-9), who advanced to the second round for the third straight year.

Domonic Jones had 22 points and seven assists for the Rams (23-8), who were making their first NCAA appearance in eight years.

St. Joseph’s 82, Liberty 63

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Take that, Billy Packer!

Jameer Nelson scored 22 of his season-high 33 points in the first half, leading top-seeded Saint Joseph’s to an 82-63 victory over Liberty on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

It was an impressive performance from the player of the year contender, and came at an important time for the Hawks (28-1).

Questions had been raised about Saint Joseph’s after its bid for a perfect season came to an end last week with an 87-67 loss to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 Conference quarterfinals.

Stanford 71, Texas-SA 45

SEATTLE – This time, no stunner in Seattle for Stanford.

Josh Childress scored six of his 26 points during a key 12-0 burst midway through the second half and reserve Matt Haryasz added 10 points, leading the Cardinal to a 71-45 victory over Texas-San Antonio on Thursday.

Stanford (30-1), the No. 1 seed in the Phoenix Regional, won its first-round NCAA game for the 10th straight year.

UTSA coach Tim Carter said Wednesday that the Roadrunners, making their third trip to the NCAA tournament, needed “to be part of a miracle” to beat Stanford.

Syracuse 80, BYU 75

DENVER – Gerry McNamara made sure the defending national champions sneaked into the second round.

The streaky-shooting sophomore hit nine 3-pointers and had 43 points, helping Syracuse hold off pesky Brigham Young 80-75 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse (22-7) shot 53 percent and got 20 points from Hakim Warrick, but couldn’t breathe easy against 12th-seeded BYU until McNamara hit three free throws in four attempts in the final 16 seconds.

Tex. Tech 76, Charlotte 73

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Maybe Buffalo isn’t such a bad place for Bob Knight.

Jarrius Jackson and Andre Emmett each scored 11 points to lead a first-half surge and Texas Tech held off Charlotte 76-73 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday.

The game turned out much better for Knight than his last trip to Buffalo, when he lost to Pepperdine in his final game as coach of Indiana in 2000.

Duke 96, Alabama St 61

RALEIGH, N.C. – Duke came into the NCAA tournament dinged up and maybe a little bit vulnerable. Alabama State was hardly the team to take advantage of it.

Shavlik Randolph scored 20 points Thursday night to help the top-seeded Blue Devils beat the Hornets 96-61 and advance to the second round of the Atlanta Regional.

Alabama State (16-15), seeded 16th and ranked 230th in the latest RPI rankings, never had a chance in this one despite Duke’s supposed shortcomings. Malcolm Campbell scored 26 points to lead the Hornets.

Maryland 86, UTEP 83

DENVER – Maryland’s young Terrapins came through like veterans. Chris McCray scored 19 points, including two free throws with 13.6 seconds left, and Maryland held off Texas-El Paso 86-83 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

John Gilchrist added 18 points and Jamar Smith 14 for the Terrapins, who feature four sophomores in their starting lineup.

UTEP, in the tournament for the first time since 1992, hit its first three shots for a 6-3 lead. The teams traded baskets before Maryland ran off seven straight points, including five by Nik Caner-Medley, to give the Terrapins a 29-23 lead midway through the half.

Alabama 65, S. Illinois 64

SEATTLE – Antoine Pettway hit a 6-foot runner with 5 seconds left to give Alabama a 65-64 victory over Southern Illinois on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Southern Illinois’ Darren Brooks, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, missed a long jumper at the buzzer.

Alabama (18-12) celebrated on court, with Earnest Shelton raising his arms before embracing Winston Kennedy.

Nevada 72, Mich. St. 66

SEATTLE – There was a little more than a minute left when Kirk Snyder finally showed some emotion and nodded knowingly to the wildly cheering Nevada fans.

Snyder hit a 3-pointer that put the Wolf Pack ahead with 2:52 left and Nevada went on to upset seventh-seeded Michigan State 72-66 Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Snyder, the Western Athletic Conference player of the year, finished with 19 points.

Seton Hall 80, Arizona 76

RALEIGH, N.C. – Kelly Whitney had 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead eighth-seeded Seton Hall past Arizona 80-76 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Andre Barrett added 19 points and six assists for the Pirates (21-9).

Texas 66, Princeton 49

DENVER – Brandon Mouton was too potent for Princeton.

Mouton scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half, fueling a Texas rally in the Longhorns’ 66-49 victory over Princeton.

Royal Ivey had 15 points and Brian Boddicker 14 for Texas, making its sixth straight NCAA tournament appearance. Princeton (20-8), the No. 14 seed,

got 16 points from Will Venable.

Texas outshot Princeton 60 percent to 35 percent in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 44-24 over the final 20 minutes, and the Longhorns did their damage early.

UNC 63, Air Force 52

DENVER – Roy Williams won his NCAA tournament debut with North Carolina against the school that gave former Tar Heels mentor Dean Smith his first coaching job.

Sean May had 14 points and North Carolina pulled away in the second half to beat scrappy Air Force 63-52 in the first round Thursday night.

Smith was an assistant at Air Force from 1955-57 before becoming the winningest coach in NCAA history in his 36 years at North Carolina.

Gonzaga 76, Valparaiso 49

SEATTLE – The Gonzaga Bulldogs don’t plan to fall victim in the kind of upset that used to be their NCAA tournament calling card.

Ronny Turiaf scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half and Cory Violette added 13 points and 10 rebounds to help second-seeded Gonzaga beat Valparaiso 76-49.

DePaul 76, Dayton 69

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Drake Diener scored 10 of his career-high 28 points in the second overtime, propelling DePaul to the NCAA tournament’s second round for the first time 15 years.

Delonte Holland added 13 points and 14 rebounds in sparking the Blue Demons’ 76-69 victory over Dayton.

Diener put DePaul ahead for good when he hit two free throws with 2:13 left in the second overtime.

to give the Blue Demons a 64-63 lead.

After Dayton’s Mark Jones hit a running jumper with 33 seconds left to cut the lead to 71-69, Diener sealed the victory by hitting two free throws with 31.4 seconds remaining.

Ramod Marshall led Dayton with 17 points, but the Flyers (24-9) were hurt by their poor performance at the free throw line, where they went 12-for-23. Dayton lost its fourth straight tournament game. They haven’t won since beating Illinois in 1990.

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