Syracuse Headed to Final Four After MONSTER Comeback

27 Mar, 2016

For 40 years, the staple of Syracuse’s basketball program has been Jim Boeheim’s zone defense. But twice in one weekend at the Midwest Regional, the Orange turned an entire postseason run around thanks to a full-court press.

In one of the most improbable in-game and in-season turnarounds of Boeheim’s long career, No. 10 seed Syracuse reversed an almost certain defeat to beat No. 1 seed Virginia, 68-62.

And now Syracuse, a team many pundits thought should not even be in the NCAA tournament following a ninth-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference, will make its fifth and most improbable trip to the Final Four under Boeheim, who was suspended nine games earlier this season following an NCAA investigation into rules violations.

Trailing 56-43 with 8:34 remaining against a veteran and deliberate Virginia team, Syracuse slapped on its full-court press, much as it did Friday night in erasing a late nine-point deficit to stun Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen.

Suddenly, a drip of momentum turned into a flood for Syracuse, which took the lead with 5:50 remaining on a layup by freshman Malachi Richardson and eventually capped off a 21-2 run to take a 64-58 lead with 3:27 left. Richardson, who struggled to get good looks for much of the game, scored seven straight in that span to finish with 23 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-16 field goals.

Virginia had one chance to tie the game late, but guard Devon Hall missed an open 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining, completing a stunning collapse for the Cavaliers, who seemed fully in control for the first 32 minutes.

What’s more, Virginia held the Orange to 37% shooting, including a first half in which Syracuse scored just two baskets out of their halfcourt offense. Though it took nearly six minutes for Virginia to hit its first field goal, the Cavaliers responded with a 19-2 run to seemingly seize control. Point guard London Perrantes had the antidote to Syracuse’s zone defense, making five 3-pointers — four of them from the exact same spot at the top of the key — to give the Cavaliers a 35-21 lead at halftime.

Virginia shot 42% overall but just 10-of-28 in the second half and committed 13 turnovers. Leading scorer Malcolm Brogdon struggled, scoring just 12 points on 2-of-14 shooting as Virginia attempted to make its first Final Four in 32 years.

USAToday

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