Syracuse goes from last in field to Sweet 16
DETROIT — Syracuse barely got into the NCAA Tournament, getting the 68th and final spot.
The Orange have earned the right to keep playing in college basketball’s showcase. And, no one will be excited about facing that zone defense.
Tyus Battle had 17 points, Oshae Brissett scored 15, and 11thseeded Syracuse zoned Michigan State out of the Tournament 55-53 on Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16.
“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.”
Syracuse (23-13) will face second-seeded Duke (28-7) on Friday in the Midwest Region semifinals.
Playing in his hometown with a chance to add another highlight-reel shot to this year’s NCAA Tournament, Cassius Winston missed an opportunity to win the game for the thirdseeded Spartans with a shot from about 45 feet just before the buzzer.
“It’s one of those shots you shoot as a kid,” he said. “I just came up short.”
The Spartans came up short, long and wide all afternoon, not making a basket in the last 5:41.
The Orange forced the Spartans (30-5) to settle for 3-pointers all afternoon and it worked brilliantly. Michigan State took a school-record 37 shots beyond the arc, making just eight.
“The last couple of jump shots they threw up, they weren’t in the ballpark,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.
Syracuse has won three straight 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. In low-scoring games, the Orange beat Arizona State in Dayton and TCU in the first round. They overcame playing three games in five days and essentially playing a road game, matching up with Michigan State about 75 miles from its campus with green-and-white clad fans packing the stands.
As poorly as Michigan State shot, it had chances to escape with a victory.
Miles Bridges missed a 3 with a chance to tie with 11 seconds left and teammate Joshua Langford missed a put-back, but Syracuse turned the ball over with 7.9 seconds left.
The Orange fouled intentionally to avoid giving up a gametying 3 twice in the closing seconds, and the Spartans made two pairs of free throws to pull within a point both times.
Paschal Chukwu connected on one free throw with 2.4 seconds left and the miss gave Michigan State a chance to win in dramatic fashion, but Winston couldn’t pull it off.
Gabe DeVoe scored 22 points, and Elijah Thomas had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Clemson, which closed the first half with a 25-4 run that helped it beat cold-shooting Auburn in San Diego and advance to the Midwest Region semifinal.
In a matchup between Southern schools better known for football, the No. 5 seed Clemson Tigers proved far more adept on the hardwood than the No. 4 seed Auburn Tigers.
The blowout put Clemson (25-9) into the Sweet 16 for the fourth time and first since 1997, earning it a spot against Kansas in the regional semifinal.
Auburn, which played this season under the cloud of a federal investigation into corruption in college basketball, finished 26-8.
The final 10½ minutes of the first half were a nightmare for Auburn, which made only six of 33 shots (18.2 percent) in the first half and 17 of 66 overall (25.8 percent).
Jared Harper made a jumper with 10:33 before halftime to pull Auburn to 18-15. The Tigers then missed their next 18 field goals as Clemson raced to a 4319 halftime lead.