No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 10 Syracuse, 6:09 p.m. TBS
The Cavaliers had almost no problem with Iowa State on Friday, getting out to a 17-3 lead before coasting in beating the Cyclones, 84-71, to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1995. Virginia led, 45-31, at the half, and ISU got it down to seven at one point, but no closer.
For the most part, the Cavs opted to let ISU star Georges Niang get his, and limit everyone else. Niang finished with 30 points but it wasn't enough for the Cyclones, who got 12 points from Matt Thomas, 11 from Deonte Burton, and 10 from Monte Morris. Virginia once again got a solid scoring effort across the board while posting its fourth-highest point total of the season. Anthony Gill led the way with 23 points, Mike Tobey came up huge off the bench with a season-high 18, and Malcolm Brogdon and Isaiah Wilkins had 12 each.
It was one of the more complete, all-around efforts by Virginia this season.
Well, hello again, Syracuse. The Orange, which lots of people thought didn't deserve to make the tournament but snuck in as an at-large team, is in the Elite Eight for the 10th time under coach Jim Boeheim, making the most of its appearance. Syracuse is, of course, an ACC team and as such, Virginia faced it this year, winning at John Paul Jones Arena, 73-65, on Jan. 24. In fact, the entire right side of the bracket, the Midwest and East regions, is filled with ACC teams. The Syracuse-Virginia winner faces the winner of North Carolina-Notre Dame. That means the ACC is guaranteed two Final Four teams and one in the title game.
A lot has changed since the Wahoos beat the Orange. So here's an update on Syracuse as UVa goes for its first Final Four berth since 1984:
Record: 22-13, 9-9 ACC; lost to Pittsburgh in ACC tournament quarterfinals
Scorers in double figures: Senior forward Michael Gbinije (17.8), freshman guard Malachi Richardson (13), senior guard Trevor Cooney (12.8), freshman forward Tyler Lydon (10.2)
Leading rebounders: Junior forward Tyler Roberson (8.5), Lydon (6.3), senior center DeJuan Coleman (4.6), Richardson (4.2), Gbinije (4.1)
Assist leaders: Gbinije (4.3), Cooney (2.3), Richardson (2.2)
Notable: Roberson averages nine points and Coleman five points. No other players average more than two ppg.
Best win: Like it was before the first meeting, it is tough to say it was anything other than winning at Duke back in January. That victory likely propelled Syracuse into the NCAA tournament. If the Orange had went 18-14 instead of 19-13 and not beaten Duke, an NIT trip would've seemed more likely. Since that first meeting, Syracuse also got a win at home over Notre Dame, which is in the Elite Eight.
What else has Syracuse done since the first meeting?: Overall, after that game in Charlottesville, the Orange went 6-4 down the stretch run of the regular season before losing in the ACC tournament quarterfinals to Pittsburgh. In the NCAA tournament, Syracuse beat a struggling Dayton squad in the first round, 70-51, then crushed surprising Middle Tennessee State, 75-50, then edged Gonzaga after being down early, 63-60. Probably one of the better games Syracuse played this season came in a regular-season loss at UNC, 75-70.
What happened in the first meeting?: It seemed as if UVa was going to blow out Syracuse, but 13 3-pointers by the Orange kept it right in the game. Gbinije hit 5 of 9 3s and had 24 points, while Richardson scored 23 and hit 6 of 10. No other Syracuse players reached double figures. Cooney had eight points and hit 2 of 3 3s. Roberson scored six. Virginia was led by 21 from Brogdon, who hit 3 of 7 3s. London Perrantes had 16 points, hitting 4 of 8 3s. Anthony Gill also had 16. Devon Hall had seven, and Mike Tobey six. Wilkins had five points and five boards. Jack Salt started, as he did for a few games in the middle of the season, and had two points.
What might change?: Most likely not the defenses. Tony Bennett is, of course, a stickler for the man-to-man Pack-Line defense. Jim Boeheim prefers the 2-3 zone. Only extenuating circumstances will force the coaches to do anything different. Salt won't start and probably won't play. Wilkins has brought great energy, defense, and rebounding into the starting lineup. Tobey has been a force recently and even Darius Thompson has shown up. He hit a 3 vs. Iowa State and had a sweet behind-the-back pass to Wilkins for a dunk in the first half. For Syracuse, Lydon, who only had two points in the first meeting, has been playing well down the stretch. He's now scored in double figures in 10 of 14 games and supplanted Roberson as the Orange's fourth player above 10 ppg. He also blocked a shot late in the game against Gonzaga that, had it gone in, would've given the Bulldogs a one-point lead with only a few seconds left.
Bennett is 3-0 vs. Boeheim, which is both comforting and frightening at the same time. Boeheim is a great coach, and it seems like eventually, he will get a win vs. Bennett. One thing working for UVa is Boeheim is set in his ways. As I said, the probability is low that Syracuse will go away from its zone. Maybe Boeheim will stretch it out some, or modify it in some way. But it will still be a 2-3 zone. I doubt Boeheim throws a monkey wrench in at this point, especially with his team on a nice, surprising run. Offensively, Syracuse will take a lot of 3s. So UVa needs to be ready to guard the arc and beyond. The Orange hit a ton of tough 3s in the first game.
Virginia has seen this zone before and done very well against it before. UVa had 26 assists on 32 field goals vs. Iowa State. The Cavaliers are moving the ball very well right now. Do the same against Syracuse, and they can crack the zone again. I know it sounds like a broken record, but everyone is dangerous at this point, and Syracuse, which should be full of confidence, is no different. But if Virginia plays a solid to great game and takes the Orange seriously, a victory should be in the offing.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10 points.
The Cavaliers had almost no problem with Iowa State on Friday, getting out to a 17-3 lead before coasting in beating the Cyclones, 84-71, to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1995. Virginia led, 45-31, at the half, and ISU got it down to seven at one point, but no closer.
For the most part, the Cavs opted to let ISU star Georges Niang get his, and limit everyone else. Niang finished with 30 points but it wasn't enough for the Cyclones, who got 12 points from Matt Thomas, 11 from Deonte Burton, and 10 from Monte Morris. Virginia once again got a solid scoring effort across the board while posting its fourth-highest point total of the season. Anthony Gill led the way with 23 points, Mike Tobey came up huge off the bench with a season-high 18, and Malcolm Brogdon and Isaiah Wilkins had 12 each.
It was one of the more complete, all-around efforts by Virginia this season.
Well, hello again, Syracuse. The Orange, which lots of people thought didn't deserve to make the tournament but snuck in as an at-large team, is in the Elite Eight for the 10th time under coach Jim Boeheim, making the most of its appearance. Syracuse is, of course, an ACC team and as such, Virginia faced it this year, winning at John Paul Jones Arena, 73-65, on Jan. 24. In fact, the entire right side of the bracket, the Midwest and East regions, is filled with ACC teams. The Syracuse-Virginia winner faces the winner of North Carolina-Notre Dame. That means the ACC is guaranteed two Final Four teams and one in the title game.
A lot has changed since the Wahoos beat the Orange. So here's an update on Syracuse as UVa goes for its first Final Four berth since 1984:
Record: 22-13, 9-9 ACC; lost to Pittsburgh in ACC tournament quarterfinals
Scorers in double figures: Senior forward Michael Gbinije (17.8), freshman guard Malachi Richardson (13), senior guard Trevor Cooney (12.8), freshman forward Tyler Lydon (10.2)
Leading rebounders: Junior forward Tyler Roberson (8.5), Lydon (6.3), senior center DeJuan Coleman (4.6), Richardson (4.2), Gbinije (4.1)
Assist leaders: Gbinije (4.3), Cooney (2.3), Richardson (2.2)
Best win: Like it was before the first meeting, it is tough to say it was anything other than winning at Duke back in January. That victory likely propelled Syracuse into the NCAA tournament. If the Orange had went 18-14 instead of 19-13 and not beaten Duke, an NIT trip would've seemed more likely. Since that first meeting, Syracuse also got a win at home over Notre Dame, which is in the Elite Eight.
What else has Syracuse done since the first meeting?: Overall, after that game in Charlottesville, the Orange went 6-4 down the stretch run of the regular season before losing in the ACC tournament quarterfinals to Pittsburgh. In the NCAA tournament, Syracuse beat a struggling Dayton squad in the first round, 70-51, then crushed surprising Middle Tennessee State, 75-50, then edged Gonzaga after being down early, 63-60. Probably one of the better games Syracuse played this season came in a regular-season loss at UNC, 75-70.
What happened in the first meeting?: It seemed as if UVa was going to blow out Syracuse, but 13 3-pointers by the Orange kept it right in the game. Gbinije hit 5 of 9 3s and had 24 points, while Richardson scored 23 and hit 6 of 10. No other Syracuse players reached double figures. Cooney had eight points and hit 2 of 3 3s. Roberson scored six. Virginia was led by 21 from Brogdon, who hit 3 of 7 3s. London Perrantes had 16 points, hitting 4 of 8 3s. Anthony Gill also had 16. Devon Hall had seven, and Mike Tobey six. Wilkins had five points and five boards. Jack Salt started, as he did for a few games in the middle of the season, and had two points.
What might change?: Most likely not the defenses. Tony Bennett is, of course, a stickler for the man-to-man Pack-Line defense. Jim Boeheim prefers the 2-3 zone. Only extenuating circumstances will force the coaches to do anything different. Salt won't start and probably won't play. Wilkins has brought great energy, defense, and rebounding into the starting lineup. Tobey has been a force recently and even Darius Thompson has shown up. He hit a 3 vs. Iowa State and had a sweet behind-the-back pass to Wilkins for a dunk in the first half. For Syracuse, Lydon, who only had two points in the first meeting, has been playing well down the stretch. He's now scored in double figures in 10 of 14 games and supplanted Roberson as the Orange's fourth player above 10 ppg. He also blocked a shot late in the game against Gonzaga that, had it gone in, would've given the Bulldogs a one-point lead with only a few seconds left.
Bennett is 3-0 vs. Boeheim, which is both comforting and frightening at the same time. Boeheim is a great coach, and it seems like eventually, he will get a win vs. Bennett. One thing working for UVa is Boeheim is set in his ways. As I said, the probability is low that Syracuse will go away from its zone. Maybe Boeheim will stretch it out some, or modify it in some way. But it will still be a 2-3 zone. I doubt Boeheim throws a monkey wrench in at this point, especially with his team on a nice, surprising run. Offensively, Syracuse will take a lot of 3s. So UVa needs to be ready to guard the arc and beyond. The Orange hit a ton of tough 3s in the first game.
Virginia has seen this zone before and done very well against it before. UVa had 26 assists on 32 field goals vs. Iowa State. The Cavaliers are moving the ball very well right now. Do the same against Syracuse, and they can crack the zone again. I know it sounds like a broken record, but everyone is dangerous at this point, and Syracuse, which should be full of confidence, is no different. But if Virginia plays a solid to great game and takes the Orange seriously, a victory should be in the offing.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10 points.
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