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.
Kayla Treanor and Alyssa Murray combined for 10 goals to power the Orange in a 16-8 victory.
TOWSON, Md. — Senior attack Alyssa Murray remembers all too well the feeling of losing in the national championship game, as Syracuse did in 2012 to Northwestern. So once the Orange played its way to a third-consecutive championship weekend, she remained more determined than ever to help the team return home with a title.
On Friday, she came one step closer to accomplishing her goal.
The Cavaliers scored 48 second-half points to beat the Orange, 75-56.
Syracuse came into Charlottesville, Va., determined to prove that it was the best team in the ACC. Unfortunately for the Orange, they did not spoil the Cavalier’s Senior Day, falling 75-56. The loss extended the No. 12 Virginia (25-5, 16-1 ACC) win streak to 13 games and gave the Cavaliers their first outright ACC regular season championship since 1981.
“From what I’ve seen, Virginia has been the best team in the league so far this year,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “They proved that today.”
Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy says multiple scouts believe Ennis could stay in Syracuse.
Although Syracuse's season isn't over yet, NBA scouts are already looking at the top Orange players ready to make the leap to the big leagues. Freshman point guard Tyler Ennis is among those players, and NBA draft experts predict he could fall anywhere from an early to late lottery pick.
Syracuse used a big run late in the first half that propelled it to an even bigger and turnover-free second half.
Syracuse women’s basketball team started its contest against the University of Virginia looking frustrated and flustered. After coming into the game ranked 17th in the nation in turnover differential, the team lost possession 16 times while only forcing seven turnovers.
But, with the score 33-29 and around three minutes to go, Syracuse went on an 11-2 run to end the half, taking the lead and battling through for a 84-75 victory. The win brought Syracuse to 15-5 on the season, and 4-3 in the ACC.
Syracuse could not contain Virginia and were outplayed across the board.
Syracuse men's soccer entered Saturday night’s game against Virginia trying to continue its three-game winning streak and improve in the conference standings. But Virginia (4-3-1) outplayed Syracuse (6-3) from start to finish a 2-0 loss to the Cavaliers.
Virginia set the tempo quickly in the match-up, and took control of the first half by showing aggressiveness against the Orange attack. Freshman Jordan Allen and Riggs Lennon provided the offensive spark for the Cavaliers.
No. 16 Syracuse rallied past No. 6 Virginia in a back-and-forth game Friday night, 9-8.
Kevin Rice dreamed of playing in the Syracuse-Virginia men’s lacrosse rivalry since he played backyard lacrosse in his Skaneateles home.
The sophomore attackman cemented his spot in the rivalry Friday night.
Rice made use of only two shots, driving home the game-winning goal with one minute left in overtime as the Orange nipped the No. 6 Cavaliers, 9-8 in front of 5,388 fans at the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse and Virginia met Saturday in a battle of co-No. 1 teams. The Orange defeated the Cavaliers 12-10 to remain undefeated and cement themselves atop the standings.
Jovan Miller drove to the cage and drew three unnecessary roughness penalties with 57 seconds remaining in the game. Virginia was never going to give in to Syracuse, despite trailing by two goals.
The top two lacrosse teams in the country, Syracuse and Virginia, will battle for national supremacy Friday night in the Carrier Dome.
When asked about the much anticipated matchup with the No. 1 ranked Virginia Cavaliers Friday, SU senior goalie John Galloway pointed out one aspect that has made this game so exciting. Scoring and lots of it.
“We pride ourselves on not getting scored on double digits,” Galloway said. “That’s going to be our goal. We’re not looking to get scored on more than 10 times by any means.”