Jojo Doria

Pittsburgh, PA

Syracuse was lucky in its NCAA Tournament opener, on Saturday the Orange were good.

The top-seeded Orange shot the lights out in the second half and gave eighth-seeded Kansas State problems with their 2-3 zone defense in a 75-59 victory in East Regional matchup.

Syracuse (33-2) advances to the regional semifinals in Boston with the win and will face either Vanderbilt or Wisconsin. The Orange are in the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years.

The Orange held a slim 25-24 lead at the half but erupted over the final 20 minutes for 50 points. Syracuse shot 66 percent (14-of-21) from the field in the second half.

Dion Waiters led four Syracuse players in double figures with 18 points. Scoop Jardine had 16 points and eight assists, while James Southerland and Kris Joseph scored 15 and 11 points respectively.

Filling in the middle for Fab Melo, Rakeem Christmas had a career-high 11 rebounds.

Rodney McGruder scored 15 points for the Wildcats (22-11), who shot 31 percent (21-of-67) from the field.

Both teams played shorthanded, missing their leading rebounders.

Syracuse was without the 7-foot Melo, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, for the second straight game. He was declared ineligible by the school for the rest of the tournament earlier in the week.

Kansas State announced that Jamar Samuels would be held out of Saturday's game over an eligibility issue about 20 minutes before the opening tip.

 

Top-Seeded Syracuse Pulls Away from Kansas State