Syracuse stuns Michigan State
The last team selected for the field of 68 is going to the round of 16.
Tyus Battle had 17 points and Oshae Brissett scored 15, lifting 11th-seeded Syracuse to a 55-53 victory over third-seeded Michigan State on Sunday in Detroit.
Cassius Winston missed an opportunity to win the game for the Spartans with a shot from about 45 feet just before the buzzer. The Spartans, flummoxed by Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, didn’t make a basket in the last 5 minutes 41 seconds.
“No one plays zone like we do,” Brissett said. “We’re always moving — and we challenge every shot — so teams never get easy looks against us. That’s why nothing surprises me with our defense.”
The Orange (23-13) forced the Spartans (30-5) to settle for long shots all game. The Spartans took a schoolrecord 37 three-point shots and made only eight.
Syracuse has won three consecutive games since being sent to Dayton, Ohio, for the First Four as what the selection committee chairman acknowledged was the final team to receive an atlarge bid.
Miles Bridges missed a three-point shot with a chance to tie the score with 11 seconds left and teammate Joshua Langford missed a putback, but Syracuse turned the ball over with 7.9 seconds left.
The Orange fouled intentionally to avoid giving up a tying three-point basket twice in the closing seconds and the Spartans made the free throws to pull within a point both times.
Paschal Chukwu made a free throw with 2.4 seconds left and the miss gave Michigan State a chance to win, but Winston couldn’t make a long shot.
Bridges had 11 points and Winston scored 15.
Clemson 84, Auburn 53: Gabe DeVoe scored 22 points, and Elijah Thomas had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Clemson (25-9), which closed the first half at San Diego with a 25-4 run for a 43-19 lead.
In a matchup of Southern schools nicknamed Tigers and better known for football, Clemson reached the round of 16 for the fourth time overall and the first since 1997.
Auburn (26-8) trailed 1815 with 10:33 left in the first half but missed the next 18 shots.
Mustapha Heron and Bryce Brown each scored 12 points for Auburn, which made only 17 of 66 (25.8%) shots.
Marcquise Reed scored 16 points for Clemson.