Indianapolis -- The Sweet 16. That’s what Syracuse and West Virginia were competing on a brilliantly sunny afternoon here at the NCAA Tournament.
SU, the 11 seed, faced the No. 3 Mountaineers in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Orange took a 35-29 advantage into the halftime locker room. Final, nail-biting score: Syracuse 75, West Virginia 72.
On to the Sweet 16. The Bubble Life continues for the Orange, which has knocked off two teams with higher seeds.
Here’s what happened:
Buddy Boeheim got hot. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. The Orange guard struggled a bit in the first half but was money (again) when SU needed him.
He scored 22 points in the second half. A couple of times, he somehow escaped West Virginia scrutiny and got wide-open looks from 3. He also made tough shots with Mountaineers in his face.
He also drained 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to help seal the deal for SU. Boeheim finished with 25 points in this one. The Buddy Mythology continues.
Syracuse raced to a 28-14 lead at halftime. The Orange, once again, confused an NCAA tournament team early with its zone. The Mountaineers turned it over (11 times in the first half). They missed shots (32% at the half). They just looked a little uncomfortable.
Sean McNeil kept West Virginia within striking distance by making two insanely deep 3-point shots.
The once-robust 14-point advantage dwindled to 35-29 at the break. Syracuse led, but the advantage seemed tenuous.
The problem for SU surfaced mostly in the second half when West Virginia turned the Orange over and capitalized on those turnovers. West Virginia had outscored SU 21-4 in points off turnovers. One of those turnovers happened in the final minute when Marek Dolezaj made an errant pass.
Joe Girard was really good in the first half. He scored 12 points by halftime and drained 4-of-6 from the 3-point line. He looked confident handling the ball against the constant pressure of Deuce McBride. And he helped offset a tough start for Buddy Boeheim (1-for-6), who has been so magnificent in the postseason. (West Virginia noticed and guarded him appropriately.)
Because West Virginia was pressuring so much, the Orange, in general, and Girard, in particular, shook free to find other teammates. SU moved the ball well, got good looks against the Mountaineers. But toward the end of the half, relatively easy shots would not go down for Syracuse.
Later in the second half, when SU needed defensive stops, it went to Kadary Richmond. Richmond, too, was solid with the ball. Against all the Mountaineers’ pressure, he slithered away from double-teams and found open floor space.
The Mountaineers put Girard on the free-throw line with 12.4 seconds left. He missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 that might have iced the game and SU fans gasped.
Syracuse found first-half foul trouble. West Virginia does that to teams. Marek Dolezaj collected three fouls in the first half, the last one in the closing seconds before intermission. (One of those fouls was basically an intentional bump to prevent a fast break, which probably seemed like a good idea at the time.) Quincy Guerrier and Alan Griffin each committed two first-half fouls.
It got worse in the second half. Dolezaj picked up his fourth with about 15 minutes left in the game when he drove and a West Virginia defender camped in the lane to draw a charge. About two and a half minutes later, Dolezaj’s replacement, Jesse Edwards, picked up his fourth foul.
So Dolezaj re-entered. With a lot of minutes left. And he somehow managed to stay in the game until the final buzzer sounded.
Sean McNeil was a problem. The West Virginia guard found open spots in the Orange zone and made 3-point shots. Some of them were ridiculously deep. But some were catch-and-shoot options out of good Mountaineers ball movement.
He was West Virginia’s version of Buddy Boeheim and he really hurt SU with his marksmanship. McNeil finished with 23 points. He was 7-of-13 from the 3-point line.
This and that: Bankers Life is the home of the Indiana Pacers and it has a distinctly corporate feel. There are swanky luxury boxes, a lot of wood paneling on the upper levels. It’s not nearly as collegial as Hinkle Fieldhouse, where SU defeated San Diego State on Friday night. And because of the size of the arena and the small size of the socially distanced crowd, every cheer seemed muffled. ... This was a physical, tough game. Not for the weak or the weak of heart. ... Robert Braswell played significant minutes for SU and drained a corner 3 that put SU ahead 68-59 and allowed every Syracuse fan in the gym to exhale (sort of). ... West Virginia dominated the glass and was the better rebounding team Sunday. It’s been an issue all season for Syracuse, though the Orange had been better lately in that department. ... SU was less than great at the end of the game. The Orange struggled to inbound the ball and made every Syracuse fan (and the entire SU bench) a little nervous until the final buzzer blared.
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