Boeheim gets dad back into Sweet 16
Buddy Boeheim carried his father, Jim, to the Hall of Fame coach’s 20th Sweet 16 appearance, scoring 22 of his 25 points after halftime to lead 11th-seeded Syracuse past thirdseeded West Virginia 75-72 in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Jim Boeheim’s Orange got the better of another legend, Bob Huggins, in the second March Madness meeting between coaches with at least 900 Division I victories. Huggins won No. 900 when West Virginia beat Morehead State in the first round on Friday. Boeheim got his 982nd at Huggins’ expense.
Syracuse (18- 9) advanced to face second- seeded Houston or 10th-seeded Rutgers in a Midwest Regional semifinal.
Buddy “Buckets” Boeheim erupted in the second half, when he made all but one of his six 3-pointers. He finished 6 of 13 from deep and 8 of 17 overall, and he helped put the game away with three late free throws.
While deep tournament runs are nothing new for his dad, it’s the first for Buddy, who was a freshman role player when the Orange lost in the opening round two years ago. Now he’s the Orange’s leading scorer and one of college basketball’s most dangerous shooters. He made two straight 3s just after the break,
and his jumper and 3 on consecutive possessions put Syracuse ahead 63-59 with 4:55 left.
LOYOLA CHICAGO 71, ILLINOIS 58 >> Loyola Chicago carried out 101-yearold superfan Sister Jean’s plans to a T, moving to the Sweet 16 with a win over Illinois, the first No. 1 seed bounced from this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Cameron Krutwig delivered a 19-point, 12-rebound masterpiece and the quick-handed, eighthseeded Ramblers (26- 4) led wire to wire. They befuddled a powerful Illinois offense to return to the second weekend three years after their last magical run to the Final Four.
BAYLOR 76, WISCONSIN 63 >> Davion Mitchell scored 16 points and spearheaded a dominant defensive first half, helping top- seeded Baylor avoid another NCAA Tournament upset with a 76- 63 win over Wisconsin on Sunday.
The Bears (24-2) looked every bit a Final Four favorite in the first half.
ARKANSAS 68, TEXAS TECH 66 >> Justin Smith had 20 points and played a key role in a final-play defensive stop, helping Arkansas beat Texas Tech, securing the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16 in a quartercentury.
HOUSTON 63, RUTGERS 60 >> Quentin Grimes scored 22 points, Tramon Mark converted a soaring threepoint play with 24 seconds left, and Houston beat Rutgers to reach the Sweet 16.
ORAL ROBERTS 81, FLORIDA 78 >> Oral Roberts pulled off yet another upset to become just the second No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to advance to the round of 16 with a victory over No. 7 seed Florida.
VILLANOVA 84, NORTH TEXAS 61 >> Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 18 points, Jermaine Samuels Jr. had 15 and Villanova knocked down 15 3-pointers, ending 13th-seeded North Texas’ bid for a second upset.