Syracuse beat the odds just to play its second No. 1 seed in as many games, but North Carolina's 11-point halftime lead was insurmountable.
Except for a few minutes in the second half Saturday night, Syracuse was unable to stop the high-powered North Carolina offense that ended the Orange's surprise championship run one game short as they fell 83-66.
Despite coming up one game shy, head coach Jim Boeheim said he was just as proud of this team as the 2003 Championship team.
“I’m more satisfied than I’ve ever been in any year that I’ve coached, with the possible exception the year we won it all,” he said.
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim: "I think we came out at halftime. We wanted to try to keep it within 12 or so, and with about 10 minutes try to go with full-court pressure. The full-court press helped."
Syracuse overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat the No. 1 seeded Virginia Cavaliers, 68-62. The victory puts the Orange into its second Final Four in four years, and they also become the first 10-seed in NCAA Tournament history to make it this far.
Virginia was 68-0 heading into Sunday night's second half, as they had never lost under head coach Tony Bennett's tenure when leading by 10 or more at halftime. Syracuse used a well-managed 25-4 run which featured a full-court press to stymie the Cavaliers. It was the first time they've beaten Virginia since joining the ACC.
Michael Gbinije had a team-high 20 points and scored the go-ahead basket for Syracuse against Gonzaga in a 63-60 win.
In a back-and-forth game between two evenly matched teams, the Orange outlasted No. 11 Gonzaga, 63-60, in the NCAA Midwest Regional round of 16 Friday night at the United Center in Chicago. Syracuse managed the clock well and won thanks to a 9-3 run in the final three minutes of the game. Graduate guard Michael Gbinije scored the basket which put Syracuse up for good; a layup after his own offensive-rebound to make the score 61-60 with 22 seconds to play.
The first round of the NCAA Tournament was even through one half, and they turned it around without great performances from Graduate Forward Michael Gbinije or Redshirt Senior Guard Trevor Cooney. Here's what you can take away from the game:
1. Halftime Blitz
The Orange were shooting even with the Dayton Flyers heading into halftime, but production grew mightily in the second half. Syracuse outscored Dayton 25-5 through the first 13 minutes, turning a two-point lead into 22.
Michael Gbinije notched a career-high 34 points to lead the Orange to 75-66 victory.
After an extremely disappointing performance last week against Pittsburgh in which he recorded just 10 points, graduate student Michael Gbinije scored a career-high 34 points to propel the Orange (19-10, 9-7 ACC) to a 75-66 win over the visiting North Carolina...
Graduate forward Michael Gbinije scored a game-high 22 points, while freshman Tyler Lydon added a double-double.
Syracuse shot an astounding 62 percent from the floor as the Orange (17-8, 7-5 ACC) cruised to an 85-72 victory against Florida State (16-8, 6-6 ACC) Thursday night in the Carrier Dome.
All-around team effort gave the Orange the edge in 60-57 victory.
The Carrier Dome atmosphere was electric Saturday afternoon, and the Syracuse Orange came off short rest, but they were fueled by the loud and at times unsettled crowd of 25,000-plus faithful.
Interim head coach Mike Hopkins won his first game at the helm.
The Syracuse Orange (7-2) have now won 50 straight games against the Colgate Raiders (2-6). The Raiders haven’t beaten Syracuse since Feb. 24, 1962, by a score of 67-63 in the Manley Field House. John F. Kennedy was the President of the United States and interim head coach Mike Hopkins hadn’t been born yet.
A crucial turnover allowed Syracuse to pull away mid-way through the second half.
Syracuse forward Tyler Roberson hit a jump shot to put the Orange up by six with about nine minutes to play in the second half of Saturday night's men's basketball game against the Elon Phoenix (2-2). Directly after, teammate Michael Gbinije stole the Phoenix inbound pass and knocked down a three-pointer. A five point play in a matter of seconds effectively put the game away and Syracuse would go on to win 66-55 in their third straight game in the Carrier Dome.
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks made a push towards the end, but it was too little too late.
The Syracuse Orange used a solid defensive effort on opening night in front of 21,286 fans at the Carrier Dome to defeat the Lehigh Mountain Hawks by a final score of 57-47.
“It doesn't look like a good win, but it is a good win,” head coach Jim Boeheim, who’s now coaching in his 40th season, told reporters following the game.