The Associated Press

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 beat fifth-seeded Florida 75-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday.

"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."

Manhattan (25-5) won its first Tournament game since defeating Oklahoma in 1995, and advanced to play fourth-seeded Wake Forest.

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.

"I don't know if them wanting it more is the right word," Florida coach Billy 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."

Anthony Roberson led Florida with 22 points.

MANHATTAN (25-5)-Flores 8-23 7-9 26, Wingate 0-1 0-0 0, Holmes 5-10 2-3 12, Mulligan 6-13 4-5 17, Benton 1-3 0-0 2, Gatling 0-0 0-0 0, Minor 3-4 0-0 7, C.Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Enescu 0-0 0-0 0, Ngarndi 0-1 0-0 0, D.Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Konovelchick 3-5 4-4 11. Totals 26-60 17-21 75.

FLORIDA (20-11)-Roberson 7-13 6-6 22, Moss 2-8 1-2 5, Humphrey 0-0 0-2 0, Lee 3-5 1-2 7, Walsh 4-12 5-6 13, Haimovitch 0-0 0-0 0, Al-Kaleem 1-2 0-0 3, Appleby 1-1 0-0 2, Richard 0-0 0-0 0, Colas 3-4 2-4 8. Totals 21-45 15-22 60.

Halftime score-Manhattan 36, Florida 29. 3-Point Goals-Manhattan 6-15 (Flores 3-7, Minor 1-2, Mulligan 1-2, Konovelchick 1-3, Wingate 0-1), Florida 3-13 (Roberson 2-6, Al-Kaleem 1-2, Walsh 0-5). Fouled out-Roberson. Rebounds-Manhattan 36 (Holmes 12), Florida 26 (Colas, Moss 6). Assists-Manhattan 10 (Wingate 4), Florida 4 (Lee 2). Total fouls-Manhattan 21, Florida 18. A-19,722

Wake Forest 79,

Virginia Commonwealth 78

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).

VA. COMMONWEALTH (23-8)-Godwin 2-5 0-2 4, Jones 9-16 1-1 22, Walker 4-8 0-0 12, George 4-8 7-7 16, Pellot-Rosa 1-4 0-0 3, Doles 6-12 1-1 15, Harper 1-2 0-0 2, Reid 2-2 0-2 4. Totals 29-57 9-13 78.

WAKE FOREST (20-9)-Gray 6-13 0-0 15, Paul 5-11 12-15 22, Levy 4-5 1-2 10, E.Williams 5-7 2-5 12, Strickland 4-6 0-0 8, Ellis 0-1 0-0 0, Downey 2-6 2-2 8, Danelius 0-2 0-0 0, Visser 2-3 0-3 4. Totals 28-54 17-27 79.

Halftime score-Va. Commonwealth 37, Wake Forest 34. 3-Point Goals-Va. Commonwealth 11-20 (Walker 4-5, Jones 3-3, Doles 2-4, Pellot-Rosa 1-3, George 1-4, Harper 0-1), Wake Forest 6-16 (Gray 3-8, Downey 2-4, Levy 1-1, Danelius 0-1, Paul 0-2). Fouled out-Godwin, Reid, E.Williams. Rebounds-Va. Commonwealth 27 (George, Godwin 6), Wake Forest 32 (Levy 10). Assists-Va. Commonwealth 17 (Jones 7), Wake Forest 16 (Paul 7). Total fouls-Va. Commonwealth 22, Wake Forest 16. A-19,722

Saint Joseph's 82, Liberty 63

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

The Hawks (28-1), coming off an 87-67 loss to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 Conference quarterfinals, advanced to play eighth-seeded Texas Tech.

Delonte West added 18 points and nine rebounds for Saint Joseph's.

David Dees led the Flames (18-15) with 22 points.

LIBERTY (18-15)-Martin 3-10 0-0 6, Sneed 1-5 4-4 7, Blair 4-12 0-0 9, Woodson 4-7 1-3 10, Mantlo 1-3 2-2 4, Dees 7-9 5-6 22, Sarchet 2-4 1-3 5. Totals 22-50 13-18 63.

SAINT JOSEPH'S (28-1)-Carroll 2-6 0-0 5, Bryant 1-2 6-10 8, Jones 2-5 3-5 7, Nelson 11-17 8-9 33, West 7-14 2-2 18, Jesiolowski 0-2 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 1-1 0-0 2, Surov 0-0 0-0 0, Barley 2-4 0-0 6, Stachitas 0-3 0-0 0, Koefer 0-0 0-0 0, Mallon 1-5 1-2 3, Lidzius 0-1 0-0 0, Hartshorn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 20-28 82.

Halftime score-Saint Joseph's 46, Liberty 26. 3-Point Goals-Liberty 6-19 (Dees 3-4, Sneed 1-2, Woodson 1-3, Blair 1-4, Riber 0-1, Mantlo 0-2, Martin 0-4), Saint Joseph's 8-23 (Nelson 3-6, Barley 2-3, West 2-6, Carroll 1-3, Jesiolowski 0-1, Stachitas 0-1, Mallon 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Liberty 33 (Martin 9), Saint Joseph's 36 (West 9). Assists-Liberty 12 (Blair, Woodson 4), Saint Joseph's 16 (West 5). Total fouls-Liberty 18, Saint Joseph's 17. A-18,456

Texas Tech 76, Charlotte 73

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.

CHARLOTTE (21-9)-Withers 4-12 8-8 17, Basden 3-8 5-6 11, Iti 3-6 0-2 6, Plavich 3-7 0-0 8, Brown 2-13 2-2 8, Pigford 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 4-5 1-2 10, Baldwin 5-5 1-1 11, Sager 0-0 0-0 0, Clemmons 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-58 17-21 73.

TEXAS TECH (23-10)-Emmett 8-11 2-4 20, Giles 1-4 0-0 2, Jackson 5-16 6-6 17, M.Marshall 7-10 0-1 15, Ross 3-11 2-3 8, White 0-0 0-0 0, Dora 4-6 4-4 12, Works 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-59 14-18 76.

Halftime-Texas Tech 39-25. 3-Point Goals-Charlotte 6-24 (Plavich 2-5, Brown 2-10, Johnson 1-2, Withers 1-3, Basden 0-4), Texas Tech 4-11 (Emmett 2-2, M.Marshall 1-1, Jackson 1-5, Dora 0-1, Ross 0-2). Fouled out-Iti, M.Marshall. Rebounds-Charlotte 33 (Withers 9), Texas Tech 36 (Dora 10). Assists-Charlotte 14 (Brown 4), Texas Tech 17 (Dora 6). Total fouls-Charlotte 20, Texas Tech 16. A-NA.