So much for the chalk players in the NCAA tournament.
Manhattan, seeded No. 13, and Miami of Ohio, which came in as a No. 12, shook up the tournament with two major upsets in early games Thursday, knocking off Oklahoma and Arizona. Then Saint Louis (23-7), seeded No. 9, won its first tournament game in 43 years, upending No. 8 seed Minnesota.After hearing considerable criticism about its at-large selection - the first for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference - Manhattan jolted No. 4 seed Oklahoma 77-67 in the Southeast Regional.
At about the same time, Miami of Ohio, playing in Dayton, down the road from its campus, was completing a 71-62 wipeout of fifth-seeded Arizona in the Midwest Regional.
And then Saint Louis sent Big Ten representative Minnesota packing with 64-61 overtime victory.
Later, Penn nearly pulled off another upset, losing in overtime to Alabama 91-85.
"It goes to show that these mid-conference teams can knock off anybody on any given day," Manhattan guard Ted Ellis said.
It showed something else to Jaspers coach Fran Fraschilla. "(Committee chairman) Bob Frederick and the tournament selection committee are not quite as dumb as people think," he said.
SOUTHEAST
Memphis, Tenn.
Manhattan 77, Oklahoma 67
Jeronimo Bucero, who averaged five points a game this season, scored all 14 of his points in the second half to pace Manhattan. Bucero led a strong bench effort for the Jaspers (26-4), who trailed by five at halftime but scored the first six points of the second half.
Ryan Minor, the Big Eight player of the year, scored 24 for Oklahoma (23-9), but went about 18 minutes without a field goal. Manhattan broke open the game with a 10-0 run to go up 52-43.
Memphis, Tenn.
Arizona St. 81, Ball St. 66
Ron Riley scored 24 points and Mario Bennett added 21 for Arizona State, keeping coach Bill Frieder undefeated in the NCAA tournament's first round. Frieder is 6-0 in a career that included four NCAA trips with Michigan. No. 5 seed Arizona State (23-8) will play Manhattan Saturday in the second round.
Ball State (19-11), seeded 12th, missed six of its first eight shots and turned the ball over seven times in the first eight minutes.
Memphis, Tenn.
Kentucky 113, Mount St. Mary's 67
Kentucky romped to its highest-scoring game in 97 NCAA tournament appearances. The top-seeded Wildcats (26-4) also set a school record for their most-lopsided win in the tournament.
Coach Jim Phelan, making his NCAA tournament debut after 41 years at Mount St. Mary's, saw his team take a 5-2 lead in the first 90 seconds. But Kentucky quelled any thought of a miracle upset by scoring 13 straight points.
Tony Delk scored 20 points for Kentucky. Chris McGuthrie had 20 for the Mountaineers (17-13).
MIDWEST
Dayton, Ohio
Miami, Ohio 71, Arizona 62
Devin Davis scored 24 points - most against Arizona's depleted frontline - and Miami of Ohio held on for the upset. Arizona (23-8) drew to two in the final minute, but Davis hit a basket and three free throws in the final 29 seconds.
The Wildcats, a Final Four team last year, have lost in the first round three of the last four years. Miami (23-6), a 12th seed, won for the first time in the NCAA tournament since 1978.
Arizona guard Damon Stoudamire, reinstated after a one-game suspension for an NCAA rules violation, scored 18 on 6-of-18 shooting. The Wildcats played without backup center Ben Davis, suspended for a separate rules violation.
Dayton, Ohio
Virginia 96, Nicholls St. 72
Harold Deane recovered from a rocky first half to score 21 points and carry Virginia. Deane, who scored 15 second-half points, hit 12 of 15 free throws.
Junior Burrough added 16 points and Curtis Staples 15 for the Cavaliers (23-8), who meet Miami of Ohio in the second round Saturday.
Nicholls State (24-6), which had a 12-game winning streak, was making its first NCAA tournament appearance after winning the Southland Conference tournament.
Dayton, Ohio
Kansas 82, Colgate 68
Kansas waited until midway through the second half to start playing like a No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks (24-5) won their 12th straight first-round game.
Colgate (17-14) closed to 50-46 with 15 minutes left. The Red Raiders lost in their first NCAA tournament appearance, and fell to 0-8 against teams that made it this year.
Billy Thomas scored 19 for the Jayhawks. Tucker Neale had 25 for Colgate.
Dayton, Ohio
W. Kentucky 82, Mich. 76, OT
Michael Fraliex hit a 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds left that forced overtime, and Western Kentucky (27-3) started the extra session with a 10-0 run.
The loss closed out the Fab Five era at Michigan (17-14). Ray Jackson scored 28 points and Jimmy King had 23 points and 17 rebounds; they were the last two members left from the famed recruiting class that made it to two NCAA title games and a regional final.
EAST
Baltimore
Wake Forest 79, N.C. A&T 47
Tim Duncan scored 21 points and Randolph Childress had 15 as top-seeded Wake Forest cruised to a one-sided victory. The Demon Deacons (25-5) won their 11th straight game by holding the 16th-seeded Aggies (15-15) to 30 percent shooting.
John Floyd had 18 points to lead North Carolina A&T, 0-9 in NCAA tournament games.
Baltimore
St. Louis 64, Minnesota 61, OT
Saint Louis (23-7) won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 43 years, holding on after squandering a 17-point lead. The ninth-seeded Billikens face Wake Forest on Saturday in the second round.
With the score 61-61, Erwin Claggett's jumper with 42 seconds left in overtime put Saint Louis ahead. After a Minnesota miss, David Robinson made a free throw to make it 64-61. Minnesota then missed four 3-pointers, the last by Townsend Orr bounding off the rim at the buzzer.
Scott Highmark scored 18 points and Claggett 16 for the Billikens, who had gone 0-4 in the NCAAs since beating New Mexico in 1952. Voshon Lenard's 18 points led Minnesota (19-12).
Baltimore
Alabama 91, Penn 85, OT
Antonio McDyess scored a career-high 39 points and Alabama began the overtime with an 11-0 run.
McDyess, who set a school record for points in an NCAA tournament game, also had 19 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Crimson Tide (23-9). Penn (22-6) rallied within 88-85 with 16 seconds left, but Bryan Passink made a foul shot and McDyess, averaging nearly 13 points and 10 rebounds, added a dunk.
The teams combined for a tournament-record 42 points in one overtime, breaking the mark of 37 set by Utah and Missouri in 1978.
Jerome Allen scored 30 points and Matt Maloney had 23 for the Quakers.
Baltimore
Oklahoma State 73, Drexel 49
Bryant Reeves bulled through two and three defenders at a time, getting 21 points and 11 rebounds. The Cowboys (24-9), now 13-1 in NCAA tournament first-round games, advanced to face Alabama.
Drexel (22-8) did not make its first basket until 11:23 was left in the first half.