Montreal brothers Maurice Joseph, right, of Vermont and Kris of the Syracuse Orange battle for a ball during their first round matchup in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. (Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Five years ago Vermont shocked Syracuse in overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Catamounts never had a chance to duplicate that amazing moment.

Wes Johnson had 18 points to lead five Syracuse players in double figures, and the top-seeded Orange beat Vermont 79-56 on Friday night in the first round of NCAA tournament.

The Syracuse zone defence clamped down at the outset and allowed few openings, and the Orange rolled up a 20-2 run to take command early.

"Going to practice, that was our emphasis, to focus on the defensive end, get out and play defence like we did at the beginning of the year," Johnson said. "I think the whole week of practice that we had to prepare for this game it helped us go into this game to step up on defence."

Syracuse's overwhelming start had 16th-seeded Vermont trailing by as many as 25 points late in the first half. And after the Catamounts closed the half with a 15-2 run, Toronto's Andy Rautins and freshman Brandon Triche started the second by hitting two threes apiece in the first four minutes to erase any doubt about the outcome.

"We haven't had slow starts this year very often," Orange coach Jim Boeheim said after his 43rd NCAA triumph, eighth all-time. "We've been pretty good. Our defence was better at the beginning. That was the big key. We gave them one early. After that we covered them. I just thought our defence was better, and then when our defence is better it picks up our offence and our offence kind of gets going."

This was a game filled with good story lines. That 60-57 Vermont victory in 2005 was the only tournament win in four appearances by the Catamounts and one of the most embarrassing losses in Syracuse history. And there was the added attraction of Kris Joseph going against his brother Maurice, Vermont's second-leading scorer, for the first time since they were kids growing up in Montreal.

The two barely touched hands before the opening tip, and Kris won this skirmish with his older brother. Maurice, Vermont's best outside threat, was 2-of-13 from the field, including 2-of-9 from beyond the arc, and finished with seven points. Kris had eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Cornell 78, Temple 65

Confident, relaxed and definitely on their game.

Cornell lived up to its billing as the best team to come out of the Ivy League in more than a decade, and now, the senior-heavy Big Red have a chance for a nice run in the East Regional of the NCAA tournament.

"Everyone was saying we were Cinderella or it's an upset. Not us," sophomore Chris Wroblewski said Friday after the 12th-seeded Big Red dominated No. 5 seed Temple 78-65 in Jacksonville, Fla., in a game that wasn't even that close.

Down to their last chance to experience success on college basketball's biggest stage, seniors Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale and Jeff Foote paced the school to its first win in five NCAA appearances.

Cornell's Jeff Foote hugs Louis Dale (12) in the final minute of the Big Red's victory over Temple. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Dale scored 21 points and Wittman, the Ivy League player of the year, had 20 for the Big Red, who led the nation in three-point shooting this season and have three other elements — strong guard play, experienced leadership and a seven-foot centre in Foote — that make them a threat to play beyond the first weekend of the tournament.

Cornell (28-4) made eight of its first 10 shots and never looked back, shooting 68 per cent in the opening half and 56 per cent for the game.

Temple (29-6) lost in the first round for the third straight year under coach Fran Dunphy, whose former assistant, Steve Donahue, has led Cornell to three straight Ivy League titles and the winningest season in school history.

Juan Fernandez and Ryan Brooks each had 14 points for Temple. Lavoy Allen added 11.

Gonzaga 67, Florida State 60

Matt Bouldin scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half to help eighth-seeded Gonzaga hang on for a 67-60 victory over No. 9 Florida State in the first round of the West Regional.

Steven Gray scored 15 points while Robert Sacre of Vancouver had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (27-6), who nearly squandered an 18-point lead.

Deividas Dulkys scored 14 points for the Seminoles (22-10), whose second-half rally ran out of gas. Dulkys banked in a three-pointer to cut Gonzaga's lead to 59-54 with 2:21 left. Florida State had a chance to pull closer but Michael Snaer missed two free throws a minute later.

Bouldin snared the rebound and the Bulldogs closed by making eight of 10 free throws.

The Bulldogs advanced to Sunday's second round and will face top-seeded Syracuse.

Gonzaga has four Canadians in its lineup.

Ohio State 68, UC Santa Barbara 51

Evan Turner took a back seat to slick shooter Jon Diebler and big forward Dallas Lauderdale, and Ohio State outlasted persistent UC Santa Barbara 68-51 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night.

Diebler scored 23 points and Lauderdale blocked a career-high eight shots and grabbed 12 rebounds for the second-seeded Buckeyes (28-7), who won without much offence from their top player. Turner was held to nine points while going 2-of-13 from the field, one of the worst shooting performances of his career.

Turner did have 10 rebounds, and William Buford added 16 points for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State advanced to play Sunday against No. 10 seed Georgia Tech, which beat seventh-seeded Oklahoma State 64-59 in Midwest Regional play earlier Friday evening.

California 77, Louisville 62

Jerome Randle and Theo Robertson scored 21 points apiece and eighth-seeded California squandered most of a seemingly comfortable lead before pulling away to 77-62 victory over ninth-seeded Louisville.

The Golden Bears (24-10), who played without suspended starting forward Omondi Amoke, advanced to the second round Sunday against top-seeded Duke, a 73-44 winner over 16th-seeded Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Cal led by as many as 18 points in the first half. Louisville trimmed the deficit to 62-58 with just over seven minutes to go, but Robertson's three-pointer steadied the Golden Bears and the Pac-10 champions were able to finish the job with 7-for-7 free throw shooting over the final six minutes.

Cal closed the game on a 15-4 run.

Maryland 89, Houston 77

Freshman Jordan Williams set career highs with 21 points and 17 rebounds, and Maryland beat Houston 89-77 in the first round of the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional.

Maryland (24-8) overcame an off night by ACC player of the year Greivis Vasquez, who had a quiet 16 points. The fourth-seeded Terrapins will play Sunday against fifth-seeded Michigan State (25-8), a 70-67 winner over New Mexico State.

Aubrey Coleman, the nation's leading scorer, had 26 points for 13th-seeded Houston (19-16). The senior averaged 25.6 points per game this season. Kelvin Lewis added 24 for Houston, 17 in the second half.

Georgia Tech 64, Oklahoma State 59

Gani Lawal scored 14 points, Derrick Favors added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Georgia Tech made 24 of 25 free throws Friday night to hold off seventh-seeded Oklahoma State 64-59 in Milwaukee.

The 10th-seeded Yellow Jackets (23-12) came into the game shooting less than 65 per cent at the free-throw line. But they made them when it mattered most, scoring their last 13 points at the line.

James Anderson, the third-leading scorer in the nation and Big 12 player of the year, had a dismal night, with just 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Marshall Moses led the Cowboys (22-11) with 14 points, and Keiton Page added 13.

Georgia Tech advanced to Sunday's second round and will face Ohio State.

Michigan State 70, New Mexico State 67

Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 25 points, and Raymar Morgan emerged from a quiet night by hitting key shots down the stretch as fifth-seeded Michigan State edged No. 12 New Mexico State 70-67 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Morgan broke a late tie with four straight points, then made two free throws with 18.6 seconds remaining with the aid of a lane-violation call.

Still, it was an uneven game for the Spartans (25-8), a microcosm of their at-times dazzling, other times dumbfounding season following a loss to North Carolina in last year's national championship game.

Troy Gillenwater scored 17 points, including a three-pointer with 20 seconds left that got New Mexico State (22-12) within 68-67. Jonathan Gibson added 16.

Duke 73, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 44

Kyle Singler had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Jon Scheyer scored 13 and No. 1 seed Duke rolled past Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73-44.

Lance Thomas chipped in 12 points and Nolan Smith added 10 as the Blue Devils began their quest for a fourth national championship in dominating fashion.

Duke (30-5) jumped out to an early lead, never trailed and reached 30 wins for the 11th time under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

The Blue Devils will California in the second round Sunday.

The Golden Lions (18-16), who beat Winthrop 61-44 in the tournament opener three days earlier, turned in a respectable defensive performance. But they struggled to score against Duke's bigger, more physical frontcourt.

Tavaris Washington led Pine Bluff with nine points. Terrance Calvin, Allen Smith and Lebaron Weathers had seven each.

Texas A&M 69, Utah State 53

Freshman Khris Middleton scored a career-high 19 points and fifth-seeded Texas A&M beat No. 12 Utah State 69-53 in Spokane, Wash., the first round of the South Regional

The Aggies (24-9) advanced to the second round for the fifth consecutive year. They will face No. 4 seed Purdue on Sunday.

David Loubeau added 12 points and B.J. Holmes had 11 for Texas A&M, which disrupted Utah State into having one of its worst shooting performances of the season and dominated the rebounding.

Utah State (27-8) lost its fifth consecutive first-round game. Its last win came in 2001 over Ohio State. The Aggies shot 38 per cent, well below their season average of 49 per cent, and scored 20 points below their season average.

Wisconsin 53, Wofford 49

Jon Leuer scored 20 points while Trevon Hughes added 19 as fourth-seeded Wisconsin held off No. 13 Wofford 53-49.

Leuer's baseline jumper with 17 seconds remaining snapped a 51-51 tie, and the six-foot-10 forward added a pair of free throws to finish the victory.

Wisconsin (26-9) advanced to the second round of the East Regional against 12th-seeded Cornell, which upset Temple earlier Friday.

Wofford (26-9) led 49-48 with under two minutes to go, but turned the ball over twice and missed two crucial foul shots down the stretch.

Jamar Diggs led the Terriers, making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament, with 13 points. Noah Dahlman added 10 points.

Missouri 86, Clemson 78

Kim English and Keith Ramsey each scored 20 points, and Missouri's swarming defence lived up to its reputation during an 86-78 victory over Clemson in Buffalo, N.Y.

Missouri (23-10), the 10th seed in the East Regional, won its fifth straight opening-round game and sent seventh-seeded Clemson (21-11) home for the third consecutive year after a first-round loss. Clemson coach Oliver Purnell is winless in six trips to the NCAA tournament with three schools.

Missouri forced 20 turnovers, nabbed 15 steals and stifled Clemson star Trevor Booker for 35 minutes. Booker finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the final game of his career. Demontez Stitt led Clemson with 21 points, Andre Young had 19 and Jerai Grant 12.

Laurence Bowers scored 15 points and J.T. Tiller had 10 points and five steals for Missouri.

Pittsburgh 89, Oakland 66

Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown scored 17 points apiece as Pittsburgh avoided becoming the latest Big East powerhouse to get knocked off in the first round, overcoming a slow start to rout Oakland 89-66 in Milwaukee.

Brown's strong performance off the bench was a boost for the third-seeded Panthers (25-8), who are making their ninth straight NCAA appearance and have advanced to the round of 16 in five of the previous eight. They'll try to continue that streak Sunday against No. 6 seed Xavier, which defeated 11th seed Minnesota 65-54 earlier Friday.

Centre Keith Benson scored 28 points for the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies (26-9), who played much of the first half without starting forward Derick Nelson after an elbow from Panthers centre Gary McGhee opened a cut over his left eye.

West Virginia 77, Morgan State 50

West Virginia overcame a miserable shooting start to avoid another Big East flameout in the NCAA tournament.

Kevin Jones scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half to spark the second-seeded Mountaineers to a 77-50 win over No. 15 seed Morgan State in Buffalo, N.Y.

Despite the margin of victory, it wasn't an easy start for the Big East champs after West Virginia missed its first 11 shots and trailed 10-0 before the game was five minutes old.

With leading scorer Da'Sean Butler handcuffed by a double-teaming Bears defence, Jones proved to be the difference. The sophomore forward went 4-for-4 for nine points during a decisive 21-4 run over a six-minute stretch in the first half. Devin Ebanks scored 16 and added 13 rebounds for the Mountaineers (28-6).

Reggie Holmes scored 12 points for Morgan State (27-10), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champ, which followed up its first tournament appearance last year with another bid this season. Kevin Thompson had eight rebounds and three blocks to go with nine points for the Bears.

Xavier 65, Minnesota 54

Jordan Crawford scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half and Xavier continued its run of tournament success with a 65-54 victory over Minnesota in Milwaukee.

Xavier (25-8) will be in the second round for the fourth straight year, this time under first-year coach Chris Mack.

Mack has a star in Crawford, the Indiana transfer playing in his first NCAA tournament game in two years. But it was far from a one-man show.

Dante Jackson smothered the Gophers' best shooters on defence, Jamel McLean had 14 rebounds and Crawford provided the highlight plays for the sixth-seeded Musketeers.

Lawrence Westbrook scored 15 of his 19 points for Minnesota (21-14) in the first half, and the 11th-seeded Gophers went cold from 3-point range late.

Purdue 72, Siena 64

Keaton Grant ignited the decisive run that rallied fourth-seeded Purdue past No. 13 seed Siena 72-64 in Spokane.

Grant's 11 points to begin the second half opened up the inside for teammate JuJuan Johnson's 23 points. Johnson, the tallest player on either team at 6-foot-10, also tied a career high with 15 rebounds.

E'Twaun Moore added 12 points for the Boilermakers (28-5). They were steamed that even U.S. President Barack Obama had joined a national chorus predicting the Saints (27-7) would pull a first-round upset in the third consecutive NCAA tournament.

Grant, a senior, became a starter after do-it-all Robbie Hummel blew out his knee three weeks ago.