The Associated Press

SEATTLE - Time erased Nevada's jitters.

The Wolf Pack trailed by as many as 16 early, then rallied late to upset Michigan State 72-66 Thursday night for Nevada's first victory in NCAA Tournament play.

"That's all it was - just a matter of time before we got comfortable with the guys we were playing against," said Kirk Snyder, who hit a 3-pointer with 2:52 left to push 10th-seeded Nevada ahead of the seventh-seeded Spartans.

Snyder, the Western Athletic Conference player of the year, finished with 19 points to help Nevada earned its first victory over a Big Ten opponent in nine tries.

Nevada (24-8) will face second-seeded Gonzaga in the second round Saturday.

Snyder hit a jumper with 3:32 left to narrow it to 63-62. Then he made his coolly executed 3-pointer that gave Nevada the lead. The Wolf Pack were 7-of-8 from the line in the last 1:07 to seal it.

"Coach told us the crowd would be behind us if we played hard," Snyder said. "It's the American way - underdogs win."

NEVADA (24-8)-Pinkney 3-5 6-7 13, Fazekas 5-7 2-2 12, Snyder 6-17 4-6 19, Okeson 2-7 8-8 14, Hill-Thomas 3-4 3-4 9, Kemp 1-6 0-0 3, Washington 0-0 0-0 0, Paul 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 20-46 25-29 72.

MICHIGAN ST. (18-12)-Anderson 2-5 5-6 10, Davis 5-9 6-6 16, Brown 1-4 0-0 2, Hill 3-9 0-0 7, Torbert 3-6 2-2 10, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Ager 2-10 1-1 6, Trannon 1-3 1-3 3, Bograkos 1-1 0-0 2, Naymick 1-2 0-0 2, Andreas 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 23-55 15-18 66.

Halftime-Michigan St. 43-34. 3-Point Goals-Nevada 7-22 (Snyder 3-9, Okeson 2-7, Kemp 1-2, Pinkney 1-2, Fazekas 0-2), Michigan St. 5-16 (Torbert 2-4, Anderson 1-2, Ager 1-5, Hill 1-5). Fouled out-Davis. Rebounds-Nevada 28 (Fazekas 7), Michigan St. 27 (Davis 6). Assists-Nevada 10 (Hill-Thomas 4), Michigan St. 14 (Hill 4). Total fouls-Nevada 16, Michigan St. 25. Technical-Nevada Bench. A-15,827

Gonzaga 76, Valparaiso 49

SEATTLE - 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 (28-2) win its 21st-straight contest and advance to the second round.

The Bulldogs started slowly - perhaps feeling the weight of the school's highest seeding in seven NCAA tournaments - but they finished with a flourish. Gonzaga ended the night with a 24-8 surge over the final 10 minutes.

VALPARAISO (18-13)-Gomes 4-11 3-5 13, D.Oppland 4-10 0-0 8, Sylla 0-1 0-0 0, Nieves 1-8 0-0 2, Berdiel 1-8 1-2 4, Miles 4-8 2-2 12, Tonagel 1-6 0-0 3, Hooper 0-1 0-0 0, Mbaye 0-0 0-0 0, Howard 0-0 1-2 1, M.Oppland 0-1 0-0 0, Harris 3-9 0-0 6. Totals 18-63 7-11 49.

GONZAGA (28-2)-Turiaf 6-10 3-6 15, Bankhead 1-2 1-2 4, Violette 6-11 1-4 13, Stepp 2-11 8-10 13, Knight 3-3 0-0 6, Morrison 5-7 0-0 10, Skinner 2-4 0-0 5, Ravio 0-0 0-0 0, Michaelson 1-1 0-0 2, Floyd 0-0 0-0 0, Mallon 3-4 0-1 6, Fox 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 29-54 15-25 76.

Halftime score-Gonzaga 36-25. 3-Point Goals-Valparaiso 6-23 (Gomes 2-3, Miles 2-4, Tonagel 1-4, Berdiel 1-5, M.Oppland 0-1, Sylla 0-1, Hooper 0-1, Nieves 0-2, D.Oppland 0-2), Gonzaga 3-13 (Bankhead 1-1, Skinner 1-2, Stepp 1-9, Morrison 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Valparaiso 31 (Gomes 8), Gonzaga 46 (Violette 10). Assists-Valparaiso 8 (D.Oppland 3), Gonzaga 19 (Stepp 9). Total fouls-Valparaiso 20, Gonzaga 14. A-15,827.