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The Syracuse University men’s basketball team rules the Big East Conference and will soon join the Atlantic Coast Conference. But to reach the Final Four for the fifth time in school history, the Orange will have to topple the Big Ten Conference.
No. 1 seed SU (33-2) advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years by sweating out a 72-65 victory over No. 16 UNC Asheville in the second round on March 15, then thumping No. 8 Kansas State 75-59 in the third round on March 17.
SU’s next opponent is No. 5 seed and Big Ten stalwart Wisconsin, which advanced to the Sweet 16 by defeating No. 4 Vanderbilt 60-57. The Orange and the Badgers (26-9) will tip off Thursday, March 22, at 7:15 p.m. at the TD Garden in Boston. WTVH-Channel 5 will broadcast the game.
If the Orangemen beat Wisconsin, they could face No. 2 seed and Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State in the East Region final, with the winner advancing to the Final Four in New Orleans. But first, the Buckeyes will have to beat No. 6 Cincinnati in the Bearcats’ first Sweet 16 game.
Ohio State (29-7) reached the Sweet 16 by ousting No. 15 seed Loyola (Maryland) and No. 7 Gonzaga. Ohio State is in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year, but the Buckeyes didn’t get past that round the last two years.
“We gotta get past it, it’s that simple,’’ Ohio State standout center Jared Sullinger said after the Buckeyes defeated Gonzaga. “The last two years, we’ve been stopped short. We have to move beyond it. That’s it.’’
Before the Orange can think about Sullinger and the Buckeyes (or perhaps a rematch with Big East foe Cincinnati), they will need to deal with a defense-minded Wisconsin team that’s making its fifth Sweet 16 appearance under Coach Bo Ryan. The Badgers are playing in their 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament, but haven’t reached the Final Four since 2000.
“We’re ready to go,’’ Badgers All Big Ten guard Jordan Taylor said after the Vanderbilt game. “We’re enjoying our experience this year and just trying to make it last as long as we can, just trying to play hard every possession, every game.’’
The Orange, meanwhile, survived a shaky 1 games as they adjusted to life without starting 7-0 center Fab Melo, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year who was ruled ineligible for the duration of the tournament two days before it started. Melo’s SU career is over because he’ll likely enter this year’s NBA draft.
In SU’s tournament opener, a controversial out-of-bounds call helped the Orange get past UNC Asheville as SU avoided the ignominy of becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16. In the first half against Kansas State, the Orange held a perilous 25-24 lead as they were out-rebounded 28-16, even though the Wildcats were playing without starting 6-7 forward and leading rebounder Jamar Samuels, who did not play because of an eligibility issue. A report in the Topeka Capital-Journal said Samuels was ruled ineligible for accepting $200 from his former AAU coach.
In the second half, SU looked like the team that went 30-1 in the regular season, was ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation for most of the campaign, and deserved a No. 1 seed in the tournament. With point guard Scoop Jardine, reserve forward James Southerland and freshman center Rakeem Christmas leading the way, the Orange shot 66 percent in the second half and held a 16-13 rebounding edge.
“We went on the runs we normally go on,’’ guard Brandon Triche said. “The last couple games, even the last month or so, we haven’t been going on any runs. We’ve been struggling a little bit and got it going.”
The 6-9 Christmas, who played power forward for most of the season, grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and added eight points and three blocks against K-State. With 6-10 centers Jared Berggren of Wisconsin and perhaps the 6-9 Sullinger on deck, Christmas will need to continue to hold his own in the middle.
“He’s a very raw talent. He really is better and more comfortable at center,’’ SU coach Jim Boeheim said of Christmas after the K-State game. “Early in the year we didn’t play him there. You know, now that he gets that opportunity, he’s ready.’’
The Orange bench outscored the Wildcats’ bench 33-0, and SU is at its best when it gets contributions from its entire roster. While veterans Jardine, Triche and Kris Joseph are the stabilizing forces, the Orange turn up it a notch when guard Dion Waiters and forward James Southerland are hitting big shots, like they did in both tournament games.
And if forward C.J. Fair can get going, the odds of the Orange reaching the Final Four improve dramatically. Fair, who averaged 10.2 points and six rebounds in Big East play, has struggled in the four games since he joined the starting lineup (2.5 points, 4.2 rebounds per game).
“He will start. He hasn’t improved too much lately, but he’ll start,’’ Boeheim said when asked about Fair. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in him. I know he’ll get going—soon, I hope.’’
This is the Orange’s third trip to the Sweet 16 since winning the national championship in 2003. The previous two trips ended with losses in this round (Butler in 2010 and Oklahoma in 2009).
After losing Melo and nearly losing to UNC Asheville, many experts figured the Orange would bow out against K-State. But victories, not style points, are the only things that matter in the NCAA Tournament. “How are we supposed to play?’’ Jardine said when asked if he thought the Orange played like a No. 1 seed against K-State. “We won. We won the game. It don’t matter. It don’t matter if we played good or bad. We won and advanced.
“That’s what this tournament is about. We saw a lot of upsets. A No. 2 lost to a No. 15 seed {twice}. That’s what this tournament is about,’’ Jardine added. “We don’t worry about how we’re playing, we just worry about getting the ‘W.’ We’re advancing to the Sweet 16. That’s all that matters when we get there, too.’’
—Matt Michael
