seeded Duke and Syracuse registered convincing victories to advance to the second round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament Friday. Duke's Blue Devils, the top seed in the South Regional, crushed Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73-44, while Syracuse, the No. 1 team in the West Regional, defeated Vermont 79-56. “We wanted to set the tone for the tournament,” Duke guard Jon Scheyer told reporters. “It was good to get a convincing win and really just blow it out there in the second half.” Forward Kyle Singler led the Blue Devils with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Duke will take on eight-seeded California, a 77-62 winner over Louisville, in Sunday's second round. Five different players scored in double figures in Syracuse's decisive win over Vermont with Wes Johnson leading the way on 18. Its second round opponent will be eighth-seeded Gonzaga, which advanced with a 67-60 victory over Florida State. Cornell provided the day's biggest upset. The 12th-seeded Big Red stunned fifth-seed Temple 78-65 in the East Regional to give the Ivy League its first NCAA Tournament win in 12 years. “I don't think Temple had played a team like us,” said senior guard Geoff Reeves, whose team took an early lead and kept going. The victory was the first in five NCAA tournaments for Cornell while Temple lost in the opening round for the third consecutive year. Cornell will meet fourth seed Wisconsin in the second round. Wisconsin turned back Wofford 53-49 in its opener. Both second seeded teams playing Friday advanced. West Virginia cruised to a 77-50 victory over Morgan State in the East and Ohio State powered by California-Santa Barbara 68
