Buddy ‘Buckets’ lifts Orange to upset win

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 No. 11 seed Syracuse past No. 3 seed West Virginia 75-72 in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Jim Boeheim’s Orange (18-9) 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.

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 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 s traight 3s just after the break, and his jumper and 3 on consecutive possessions put Syracuse ahead 63-59 with 4:55 left.

Sean McNeil scored 23 points to lead the Mountaineers (19-10), who last made the Sweet 16 in 2018. That was the fifth time West Virginia got that far under Huggins, who also made the regional semis four times with Cincinnati.

WVU trailed 74-72 with 4 seconds left before Boeheim was fouled at midcourt on an inbounds pass. He made one free throw and missed the second, but Miles McBride traveled after grabbing the rebound.

Unlikely matchup: On one side, it’s mighty UCLA. College basketball royalty.

On the other end, it’s tiny Abilene Christian. NCAA novice.

A perfect matchup for an NCAA Tournament full of March Madness.

Johnny Juzang and UCLA take on Joe Pleasant and Abilene Christian on Monday in an unlikely matchup in the second round of the East Region. The 11th-seeded Bruins (19-9) advanced with a 73-62 win over BYU, and the 14th-seeded Wildcats (24-4) edged No. 3 seed Texas 53-52 in a big surprise Saturday night.

It’s the sixth time there has been an 11 vs. 14 contest since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the previous one occurring in 2015.