INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — In a tournament full of upsets, the Syracuse Orange (18-9) is one of the many Cinderella stories. At the end of the regular season, they were on the brink of not making the tournament at all. After losing to Virginia at the Buzzer in the ACC Tournament, it looked like they would be bounced off the bubble. However, they got in as an 11-seed; they went on to beat 6-seed San Diego State in the First Round to set up a matchup with 3-seed West Virginia (19-10).
In the end, Syracuse rode their junior leader Buddy Boeheim en route to another upset, defeating West Virginia 75-72. Boeheim, the head coach Jim Boeheim’s son, has been the guy they turned to when they needed big buckets this season. On Sunday, he delivered again and again; he led both teams with 25 points along with 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist.
Down the stretch, it was Boeheim getting it done. After a slow first half, he scored 22 of his 25 points in the 2nd half. That included shooting 5 of 8 from behind-the-arc and 3 critical free-throws to seal the victory. He spoke after the game about how critical it was to get his shot going.
“It was huge for me. Just credit to my teammates. They knew that I needed to get some clean looks early in the second half to get going, and they did a great job. My first two shots were wide open, and that’s all credit to Marek (Dolezaj) giving me a handoff and finding me in the corner. They knew eventually I was going to start making shots,” said Boeheim.
West Virginia cannot complete the comeback
Early on, it seemed as though Syracuse would run away with this game. They opened up the game fast, jumping out to a 14-point lead with 5 minutes to go in the half. Their zone defense smothered the West Virginia offense in the first half, limiting them to 29 points at halftime.
However, West Virginia would not go away; in the second half, they used an 18 to 6 run to erase the deficit and take a 1 point lead. Unfortunately for them, it was the last lead they would hold. In response, Syracuse went on an 18 to 6 run of their own, pushing the lead back to 11. A late press from West Virginia would make it close late, but the Syracuse defense forced another late turnover to seal the 3-point victory.
The Syracuse defense took west Virginia out of rhythm; they shot just 37% from the field as a team. On offense, Syracuse shot 52% as a team while 4 players scored in double-figures. They were on fire from behind-the-arc, knocking down 14 of 31 from downtown.
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No. 2 Houston vs. No. 11 Syracuse, Saturday, March 27, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
