The last two national champions barely survived their first-round matchups in this NCAA tournament.

Syracuse and Maryland held on to advance, however, and will meet Saturday with a spot in the round of 16 on the line.

The Orangemen would already be done with the defense of their national title if not for Gerry McNamara, who scored a career-high 43 points and hit nine 3-pointers in an 80-75 victory over 12th-seeded Brigham Young on Thursday.

McNamara was at his best in the first half, scoring 28 of Syracuse's 42 points as the game was tied at the intermission. The Orangemen trailed by as many as 11 in the first 20 minutes and had to play the final 7:01 of the period without leading scorer Hakim Warrick, who picked up three fouls.

"Right from the beginning, from that first shot I took, it felt good," said McNamara, who hit six 3-pointers in last year's championship game against Kansas. "So when you have it, you have to roll with it. You have to keep throwing it up there."

Syracuse shot 53 percent overall and got 20 points from Warrick, but couldn't breathe easy until McNamara hit three free throws in four attempts in the final 16 seconds.

"Gerry had as good a performance as I've ever seen in college basketball," said coach Jim Boeheim, who tied Denny Crum for 18th all-time with his 675th win.

"Gerry was just in another world today. I don't think you'll see the likes of that kind of game too many times ever."

Boeheim needed that kind of performance as his squad struggled to contain BYU's 6-foot-11, 280-pound center Rafael Araujo, who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Boeheim, who lost last season's star, Carmelo Anthony, to the NBA, will need McNamara to continue his hot shooting in the tournament if the Orangemen are to keep advancing.

Next up for Syracuse is Maryland, which also had a tough time in its opener, defeating Texas-El Paso 86-83.

Chris McCray scored 19 points, including two free throws with 13.6 seconds left, as the Terrapins held off the Miners to move on.

"We haven't put teams away this year given the opportunity," Maryland coach Gary Williams said of his team, which features four sophomores in the starting lineup.

"I can't remember a team that has been in more pressure situations down the stretch because of that."

Williams' young Terps hit eight of their last nine free throws, including 4-for-4 in the final minute, as the 2002 national champions earned their sixth straight win.

John Gilchrist added 18 points and Jamar Smith 14 for the Terrapins, who won despite squandering an 11-point lead in the second half.

"We are not the veteran, savvy team that we were the last three years," Williams said. "Playing with a lead requires a lot of experience. You play aggressive, but if you are too aggressive then you shoot the ball too quick and don't use the clock and give the other team chances to score."

Syracuse has never beaten Maryland, losing all five meetings, although the teams haven't met since 1980. The only NCAA tournament game between the teams came in 1973, a 91-75 Terps victory.

The winner of Saturday's game plays either top-seeded Stanford or eighth-seeded Alabama in the regional semifinal next Thursday. Syracuse and Maryland are seeking their fourth straight trip to the round of 16.

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Syracuse - F Warrick (19.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg), F Demetris Nichols (4.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg), C Craig Forth (5.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg), G McNamara (17.1 ppg, 3.8 apg), G Josh Pace (9.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg).
Maryland - F Nik Caner-Medley (12.4 ppg and 4.7 rpg), F Travis Garrison (7.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg), C Smith (13.0 ppg and 8.9 rpg), G Gilchrist (15.6 ppg and 4.9 apg), G McCray (11.0 ppg and 1.6 spg).

HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Syracuse - At-large berth; beat No. 12 BYU 80-75, first round.
Maryland - Automatic bid, ACC champion; beat No. 13 UTEP 86-83, first round.

ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD:
Syracuse - 47-28, 28 years.
Maryland - 35-19, 19 years.