RALEIGH, N.C. - 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 look 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. The Jaspers advanced to play Wake Forest, a 79-78 winner over Virginia Commonwealth, in the second round of the East Rutherford Regional.

Clearly, the Demon Deacons will have their hands full.

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.

He was right.

"I told the guys that we're in a 5-12 matchup, we're playing an epic team like Florida, this is going to be considered a major upset," Gonzalez said. "But I told them if you come in worried about the name on the other jersey, you really don't have a chance."

And really, the name "Florida" doesn't seem so daunting anymore.

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.

They were thought far and wide to be one of the most vulnerable favorites in the opening round and they played the role perfectly, missing open shots, never getting into a flow on offense and letting Manhattan's pesky, pressing defense get into both their minds and their games.

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

"I don't know if them wanting it more is the right word," Donovan said. "But when you look at the rebounding, the way our frontcourt played, the thing that keeps showing up is, their guys competed better than we did."

RALEIGH, N.C. - Chris Paul had 22 points and seven assists, and Justin Gray added 15 points for Wake Forest.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 Virginia Commonwealth (23-8).

BUFFALO, N.Y. Jameer Nelson scored 22 of his season-high 33 points in the first half, leading top-seeded Saint Joseph's to an easy first-round victory over Liberty.

BUFFALO, N.Y. Andre Emmett scored 20 points to help Texas Tech beat Charlotte in Red Raiders coach Bob Knight's first game in Buffalo since his 2000 finale with Indiana.Jarrius Jackson added 17 points for Texas Tech (23-10). Curtis Withers led Charlotte (21-9) with 17 points and nine rebounds.

SEATTLE - Kirk Snyder hit a 3-pointer that put Nevada ahead with 2:52 left and the Wolf Pack went on to upset seventh-seeded Michigan State Thursday.It was Nevada's first victory in nine games against Big Ten opponents.

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

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Drake Diener scored 10 of his career-high 28 points in the second overtime, propelling DePaul to the second round for the first time 15 years.Delonte Holland added 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Blue Demons (22-9). Ramod Marshall led Dayton (24-9) with 17 points.

DENVER - Gerry McNamara hit nine 3-pointers and had 43 points for defending national champion Syracuse.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 the final 16 seconds.Rafael Araujo had 24 points and 12 rebounds for BYU (21-9).

DENVER - Chris McCray scored 19 points, including two free throws with 13.6 seconds left, and Maryland held off Texas-El Paso.John Gilchrist added 18 points, and Jamar Smith had 14 for the Terrapins (20-11), coming off an overtime win against Duke in the ACC title game. John Tofi had 16 points for UTEP (24-8).

SEATTLE - 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 for Stanford (30-1).

SEATTLE - Antoine Pettway hit a 6-foot runner with 5 seconds left to lift Alabama past Southern Illinois.Southern Illinois' Darren Brooks, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, missed a long jumper at the buzzer.Earnest Shelton scored 18 points for Alabama (18-12). Brooks led Southern Illinois (25-5) with 25 points.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Rashad Anderson scored 22 points, and Emeka Okafor had 15 points and 14 rebounds.Connecticut (28-6), the Big East champion and second seed, will play seventh-seeded DePaul in the second round.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Shavlik Randolph scored 20 points for top-seeded Duke. Daniel Ewing added 19 points for Duke (28-5), which will play eighth-seeded Seton Hall in the second round.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Kelly Whitney had 24 points and 14 rebounds to lead Seton Hall past Arizona.Andre Barrett added 19 points and six assists for the Pirates (21-9), who overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half.

DENVER (AP) - Brandon Mouton scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half to lead Texas past Princeton.

DENVER - Sean May had 14 points and North Carolina pulled away in the second half to beat scrappy Air Force.North Carolina (19-10) had trouble with Air Force's deliberate offense and swarming defense, and didn't get any breathing room until going on an 11-0 run midway through the second half.Air Force (22-7) shot 50 percent in the first half, but was just 8-for-21 in the second and lost in its first NCAA tournament appearance in 42 years.