The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A team of blue-collar kids with crew cuts from a tiny Indiana school beat a powerhouse in the big tournament. Sound vaguely familiar?

Darnell Archey's brilliant shooting and Brandon Miller's deft ball-handling Sunday swept 12th-seeded Butler into the round of 16 for the first time with a 79-71 stunner over Rick Pitino and Louisville in the East Regional.

The Horizon League team that plays in the gym where the ultimate underdog movie, "Hoosiers", was filmed is writing a poignant script of its own with upsets of No. 5 Mississippi State and the fourth-seeded Cardinals (26-6).

"And you know what? They won," Miller said, referring to the fabled Milan High School team that won an improbable state title in 1954.

Next, the Bulldogs (27-5) meet top-seeded Oklahoma on Friday in Albany, N.Y.

Archey shot 8-of-9 on 3-pointers - hitting all six in the second half - and tied his career high with 26 points to end Pitino's return to the NCAA tournament.

"I was in the zone. I felt like Michael Jordan in '92 against the Blazers," Archey said. "My teammates just kept getting the ball to me with wide-open looks."

With their first at-large berth in 41 years, the Bulldogs set a school record for wins and aren't ready to quit yet.

"It's not our goal just to get to the Sweet 16," Archey said. "Our goal all along has been to be national champions.

"We're thrilled and excited, but we're not satisfied."

Pitino won a national championship with Kentucky in 1996. His second Louisville team won the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles.

"Obviously, if you don't win a championship, you're going to end on a low note," said Pitino, who had won 12 of his last 13 NCAA tournament games. "To me, this is not a low note because of what our team has accomplished this year. And I'm not too disappointed, because Butler is a great team."

Butler, with an enrollment of about 4,000 - less than a fifth of Louisville's - made 14 of 22 3-pointers, including 9-of-13 in the second half.

Mike Monserez had 14 points, nine assists and three steals, making four 3s. Duane Lightfoot, a Louisville native, and Joel Cornette added 14 points apiece.

Louisville's press helped build an early 15-point lead, but Miller - who hit the game-winning shot with 6.2 seconds left against Mississippi State - had few problems with it after that.

"When the game started, I don't think I've ever seen the kind of pressure they put on us," Miller said. "It was unique."

He had six assists, took two charges from Reece Gaines, and drew several hand-checking fouls while bringing the ball up the court.

Gaines scored 22 second-half points and finished with 26, but Louisville could never overcome Butler's big start to the second half.

Gaines scored 11 points in a 3:48 span to bring the Cardinals back and cut it to 70-69 on a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:55 left.

Archey answered 24 seconds later with another 3, and Archey and Monserez hit two free throws apiece in the final 12.8 seconds.

"I just kind of smiled my way through the free throws and knocked them both down," said Archey, who has missed only eight foul shots in his career. He set the NCAA record for consecutive free throws with 85 earlier this season.

Archey's coach wasn't surprised by his 3-point display.

"It doesn't surprise me when he makes those shots," Todd Lickliter said. "To be honest, it kind of surprises me when he doesn't. We have tremendous confidence in him."

Butler began to feel it early in the second half, bumping chests and slapping hands on the court when a 13-0 run forced Pitino to call a timeout with his team down 50-39.

Butler had assists on 21 of 27 baskets.

"As Princeton runs an offense for layups, this team runs an offense for 3s, and they're great at it," Pitino said. "They're one of the best shooting teams I've seen."

The Bulldogs withstood the first onslaught, falling behind 24-9 amid a flurry of turnovers and Louisville 3-pointers. They answered with an 18-4 run and actually led by one at halftime.

The Bulldogs left the court clapping their hands and pumping their fists while the Cardinals walked or jogged off with their heads down.

It was a similar scene after the game.

"When we were down 15 points, you could look in the huddle and see guys just gritting their teeth and saying this is where we've got to get going," Miller said. "We played tough from there on out."

BUTLER (27-5)-Monserez 4-8 2-2 14, Curry 2-5 0-0 5, Cornette 7-12 0-1 14, Miller 0-4 3-5 3, Archey 8-12 2-2 26, Lightfoot Jr. 5-9 4-9 14, Sheets 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 27-52 11-19 79.

LOUISVILLE (25-7)-Whitehead 6-8 2-2 14, Brown 3-6 0-0 8, Stone 1-4 0-0 2, Dean 1-5 0-0 3, Gaines 10-15 0-0 26, Dartez 0-0 0-0 0, Northern 0-2 0-0 0, Mohammed 0-1 0-0 0, Garcia 6-12 2-2 16, George 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-54 4-4 71.

Halftime-Butler 34-33. 3-Point Goals-Butler 14-22 (Archey 8-9, Monserez 4-7, Sheets 1-2, Curry 1-3, Miller 0-1), Louisville 11-25 (Gaines 6-10, Brown 2-5, Garcia 2-6, Dean 1-3, Mohammed 0-1). Fouled out-Garcia. Rebounds-Butler 28 (Cornette 10), Louisville 27 (Whitehead 6). Assists-Butler 21 (Monserez 9), Louisville 13 (Gaines 6). Total fouls-Butler 11, Louisville 21. Technical-Monserez. A-NA.

Syracuse 68, Oklahoma State 56

BOSTON - Gerry McNamara never took his eye off the goal. His good eye, anyway.

Bloodied by a blow to the head that sent him to the locker room in the second half, he returned to hit three big 3-pointers as Syracuse overcame a disastrous start and beat Oklahoma State 68-56 Sunday.

"I don't think my right eye was working too good," McNamara said. "So I used the left eye to shoot. I had to concentrate a little more."

The win achieved another goal - a berth in the round of 16.

The Big East also came back from a shot - to its prestige - and went 8-0 in the first two rounds after only four of its teams were picked for the NCAA tournament.

"Our players are playing with a chip on their shoulders," conference commissioner Mike Tranghese said. "No one had to say anything to them. They felt the league was slighted and it still doesn't make up for the fact that we only got four teams in."

But all of those teams - Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Notre Dame - advanced.

The second-round victory in the East Regional sends the Orangemen to Albany, N.Y., next Friday against Auburn (22-11).

Third-seeded Syracuse (26-5) got there after falling behind 14-2, trailing 31-25 at halftime and not taking its first lead of the second half until McNamara's 3-pointer made it 40-39 with 14:26 left.

He was hit as he shot, left the game, and returned with a bandage above his nose. He went back into the game with 8:36 to go and Syracuse leading 47-43, and hit a 3-pointer that made it 50-43.

Coach Jim Boeheim wanted him back even sooner - and told that to Syracuse personnel on the bench - as sixth-seeded Oklahoma State (22-10) took a 43-40 lead a minute after his departure.

"I'm not very patient with medical people," Boeheim said. "If he can walk, he's getting back in the game."

McNamara and Carmelo Anthony, two of Syracuse's three talented freshmen, each missed all six of their shots in the first half. But McNamara finished with 14 points and Anthony added 13.

McNamara hit three 3-pointers in the last 8:08, giving Syracuse leads of 50-43, 59-50 and 64-52.

"We're going to make mistakes and turn the ball over," Anthony said. "It's a matter of how hard we play after the turnover or the mistake."

They had to play hard after their horrible start in which Oklahoma State ran after nearly every Syracuse miss or turnover.

"The first 14 minutes of the game, our game plan was executed as well on the defense as you hoped it could be," Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton said. "The last half may have been one of the worst we've had all season."

Searching for a way to get back in the game, Boeheim shifted to "a desperation press" on defense. It worked as the Orangemen scored the last seven points of the half to trail by six.

Oklahoma State could have had a much bigger lead if it didn't commit 13 turnovers and miss 17 of 30 shots in the half.

"We just didn't convert easy baskets," said Melvin Sanders, who did a decent job guarding Anthony. "We ended up with 22 turnovers."

Syracuse freshman Billy Edelin, who is overshadowed by Anthony and McNamara, had two outstanding halves - scoring 12 points in the first and eight in the second for a game-high 20.

The Cowboys were led by Ivan McFarlin with 14 points and Victor Williams, whose 13 points were far below his career-high 29 points in a first-round win over Pennsylvania.

The spurt by the Orangemen late in the first half shifted the momentum, and that carried over into the second half. Syracuse outscored the Cowboys 66-42 after trailing 14-2.

"I always thought it's better to come out slow and finish fast than the other way around," Anthony said.

OKLAHOMA STATE (22-10)-McFarlin 6-11 2-4 14, Sanders 2-10 0-0 4, A.Williams 3-6 1-5 7, V.Williams 4-12 2-2 13, Allen 3-12 4-7 10, Miller 2-2 0-0 4, Weatherspoon 0-0 0-0 0, Gadson 2-9 0-1 4, Steyn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-63 9-19 56.

SYRACUSE (26-5)-Duany 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony 5-16 2-6 13, Forth 0-1 0-0 0, Warrick 3-8 5-6 11, McNamara 5-13 0-0 14, Edelin 8-12 4-6 20, McNeil 2-3 0-0 4, Pace 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 26-57 11-18 68.

Halftime score-Oklahoma St. 31, Syracuse 25. 3-Point Goals-Oklahoma St. 3-19 (V.Williams 3-10, Gadson 0-1, McFarlin 0-1, Allen 0-3, Sanders 0-4), Syracuse 5-12 (McNamara 4-10, Anthony 1-2). Fouled out-Sanders. Rebounds-Oklahoma St. 47 (McFarlin 12), Syracuse 42 (Anthony, Pace 8). Assists-Oklahoma St. 16 (Allen, V.Williams 4), Syracuse 16 (McNamara 6). Total fouls-Oklahoma St. 19, Syracuse 19. A-18,389.

Auburn 68, Wake Forest 62

TAMPA, Fla. - Auburn proved its point.

Feeding off its underdog status one more time, the team many critics believed didn't belong in the NCAA tournament stunned second-seeded Wake Forest 68-62 Sunday in the second round of the East Regional.

Auburn coach Cliff Ellis angrily responded last week, saying his players earned the berth despite losing nine of their last 14 games and playing a weak early season schedule.

He resisted the temptation to gloat after toppling the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season champions to reach the round of 16 for the second time in five seasons.

Instead, Ellis focused on Derrick Bird, the 6-foot-4 senior guard who shut down Wake Forest's Josh Howard, the ACC player of the year.

"Derrick Bird is an All-American defensive player. We don't care who's out there, he's going to guard him," Ellis said. "Whoever we play next is going to see it, too."

The 10th-seeded Tigers (22-11) will face third-seeded Syracuse, a 68-56 winner over Oklahoma State, in the regional semifinals.

Marquis Daniels led Auburn with 18 points, seven in the final four minutes after he returned from a spell on the bench in foul trouble. Reserve Lewis Monroe scored Auburn's last four points from the foul line to finish with 12.

The Tigers trailed by two when Daniels was called for his fourth foul with 9:22 to go. They led 59-56 when he returned, taking over the game with a 13-3 run that rattled Wake Forest and set it up for Daniels to close out the Demon Deacons.

"It shows this team really is a team," Ellis said. "We made our run with Marquis over there with us. The young guys really stood up there and grew up."

Freshman Justin Gray led Wake Forest (25-6) with a career-high 26 points, despite sitting out three minutes of the second half after falling and hitting the back of his head on the floor.

Howard, however, was not much of a factor - especially at crunch time, when the Demon Deacons, who shot 27 percent in the second half (7-for-26), needed him most.

"It hurts," Howard said. "I had a chance to help the team and I didn't capitalize. As a team, we didn't capitalize on our offensive possessions, and that was it."

Howard also struggled in a loss to North Carolina State in the ACC tourney and had another off day in the Demon Deacons' narrow first-round victory over 15th-seeded East Tennessee State. Despite scoring 14 points Sunday, the 6-foot-6 senior was 4-for-10 shooting and had a team-high seven turnovers.

Marco Killingsworth and Brandon Robinson each had 11 points for Auburn, which also made the round of 16 under Ellis in 1999. Both players had key baskets during the stretch when Daniels was on the bench.

"They stepped up just like our team when I go down or have a problem with fouls," Howard said. "There's always a player on the team that's going to be willing. They had guys step up and make big shots and make big plays. We just weren't able to handle them."

Although Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser insisted too much was being made of the way his team played in its previous two games, the Demon Deacons clearly were not the same team that won its first outright ACC regular-season crown in 41 years.

Gray made his first three shots and was 5-for-8 in the first half, picking up the slack for the slumping Howard. But no one else asserted themselves, leaving the freshman guard to carry the load.

Monroe's 3-pointer gave Auburn its first lead, 51-49, with 7:43 remaining. Howard made a pair of free throws to tie it 26 seconds later, but Wake Forest never regained the lead - surprising for a team that has a knack for closing out opponents under Prosser.

"We just had a hard time scoring. Give credit to Auburn," Prosser said. "I think some of it was a function of our just missing shots, but I'm not sure we were the most poised team down the stretch, either."

AUBURN (22-11)-Daniels 7-15 4-7 18, Killingsworth 4-10 3-4 11, Davis 1-3 0-0 2, Bird 3-10 2-2 9, Monroe 2-6 6-6 12, Robinson 5-9 1-1 11, Watson 2-3 0-0 5, Lollar 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 16-20 68.

WAKE FOREST (25-6)-Levy 1-4 1-2 3, Danelius 1-6 2-3 4, E.Williams 1-4 2-2 4, Downey 3-6 0-0 9, Howard 4-10 6-6 14, Ellis 0-0 0-0 0, Gray 8-15 5-6 26, Joyce 0-0 0-0 0, Lepore 0-1 0-0 0, Strickland 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 18-49 18-21 62.

Halftime-Wake Forest 38-34. 3-Point Goals-Auburn 4-19 (Monroe 2-5, Watson 1-2, Bird 1-6, Killingsworth 0-1, Robinson 0-1, Daniels 0-4), Wake Forest 8-23 (Gray 5-9, Downey 3-5, Lepore 0-1, Levy 0-1, Howard 0-3, Danelius 0-4). Fouled out-Levy. Rebounds-Auburn 33 (Killingsworth 8), Wake Forest 35 (Howard 8). Assists-Auburn 11 (Killingsworth, Monroe 3), Wake Forest 5 (Danelius, Downey, Gray, Howard, Levy). Total fouls-Auburn 18, Wake Forest 23.