Saturday, March 17
Pittsburgh, PA
12:15 p.m.
Syracuse University
75
vs
59
Kansas State
SU shot 66 percent in the second half (14-of-21)
Photo by: Stephen Parker
Heading to the Sweet 16: SU 75, K-State 59
3/17/2012 1:14:08 PM | Men's Basketball
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The top-seeded Syracuse University men's basketball team (33-2) shot 66 percent in the second half to propel the Orange past the eighth-seeded Kansas State Wildcats (22-11), 75-59, in third round action of the NCAA Tournament at the Consol Energy Center on Saturday afternoon.
Syracuse earned a spot in the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years with the win and now heads to Boston next weekend to play the winner of the Wisconsin vs. Vanderbilt game to be played tonight at 6:10 on TNT.
Dion Waiters scored a game-high 18 points to lead four SU players in double figures. Scoop Jardine had 16 points and eight assists, while James Southerland and Kris Joseph scored 15 and 11 points, respectively. Rakeem Christmas had a career-high 11 rebounds. The Orange as a team was 23-29 from the free throw line. Kansas State was paced by Rodney McGruder who had 15 points and Jordan Henriquez with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
The Orange shot 51 percent overall (23-of-45) and was 6-of-9 from long range. The Wildcats shot 31 percent collectively (21-of-67). After being out-rebounded 28-16 in the first half (15 offensive boards), the Orange held a 16-13 advantage in second half.
Syracuse fell behind 9-2 in the first four minutes of the game, but Joseph scored six straight SU points followed by five straight from Waiters. The two combined to go on an 11-2 run and SU took its first lead of 13-11 at the under 12 media timeout.
The momentum continued for the Orange as Waiters and Jardine combined to score the next eight points of the contest and the Orange led 23-14 with 7:28 remaining in the half. The run would ultimately be 21-3.
KSU however, would climb back into the game by scoring the next seven points and ended the half on a 12-2 scoring run to get within one at the halftime, 25-24.
K-State's Jordan Henriquez would score six of KSU's first eight points out of the locker room, but five SU players combined to score 11 points in the first four minute of the second half. An offensive rebound and put-back by James Southerland gave the Orange a 36-32 lead and forced KSU head coach Frank Martin into a timeout at 15:51.
With SU clinging to a 36-34 lead, Jardine and Brandon Triche helped the Orange score nine consecutive points during an 11-3 run. Rakeem Christmas tallied six of his eight points during that stretch and SU would lead 47-37 with 11:42 remaining.
The Wildcats would get back within five, but two free throws by Joseph and back-to-back triples by Jardine and Southerland provided the Orange with its largest lead of the game at 55-42 with 9:02 remaining.
Syracuse continued to stretch its lead as it would grow to as large as 18. The Orange would not allow the Wildcats within 10 for the remainder of the contest and SU was 8-of-10 from the line in the final five minutes.
In the two games this weekend in Pittsburgh, Jardine scored 25 of his combined 27 points in the second half and averaged 7.5 assists. Joseph was 13-of-15 from the free throw line in the two games.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The top-seeded Syracuse University men's basketball team (33-2) shot 66 percent in the second half to propel the Orange past the eighth-seeded Kansas State Wildcats (22-11), 75-59, in third round action of the NCAA Tournament at the Consol Energy Center on Saturday afternoon.
Syracuse earned a spot in the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years with the win and now heads to Boston next weekend to play the winner of the Wisconsin vs. Vanderbilt game to be played tonight at 6:10 on TNT.
Dion Waiters scored a game-high 18 points to lead four SU players in double figures. Scoop Jardine had 16 points and eight assists, while James Southerland and Kris Joseph scored 15 and 11 points, respectively. Rakeem Christmas had a career-high 11 rebounds. The Orange as a team was 23-29 from the free throw line. Kansas State was paced by Rodney McGruder who had 15 points and Jordan Henriquez with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
The Orange shot 51 percent overall (23-of-45) and was 6-of-9 from long range. The Wildcats shot 31 percent collectively (21-of-67). After being out-rebounded 28-16 in the first half (15 offensive boards), the Orange held a 16-13 advantage in second half.
Syracuse fell behind 9-2 in the first four minutes of the game, but Joseph scored six straight SU points followed by five straight from Waiters. The two combined to go on an 11-2 run and SU took its first lead of 13-11 at the under 12 media timeout.
The momentum continued for the Orange as Waiters and Jardine combined to score the next eight points of the contest and the Orange led 23-14 with 7:28 remaining in the half. The run would ultimately be 21-3.
KSU however, would climb back into the game by scoring the next seven points and ended the half on a 12-2 scoring run to get within one at the halftime, 25-24.
K-State's Jordan Henriquez would score six of KSU's first eight points out of the locker room, but five SU players combined to score 11 points in the first four minute of the second half. An offensive rebound and put-back by James Southerland gave the Orange a 36-32 lead and forced KSU head coach Frank Martin into a timeout at 15:51.
With SU clinging to a 36-34 lead, Jardine and Brandon Triche helped the Orange score nine consecutive points during an 11-3 run. Rakeem Christmas tallied six of his eight points during that stretch and SU would lead 47-37 with 11:42 remaining.
The Wildcats would get back within five, but two free throws by Joseph and back-to-back triples by Jardine and Southerland provided the Orange with its largest lead of the game at 55-42 with 9:02 remaining.
Syracuse continued to stretch its lead as it would grow to as large as 18. The Orange would not allow the Wildcats within 10 for the remainder of the contest and SU was 8-of-10 from the line in the final five minutes.
In the two games this weekend in Pittsburgh, Jardine scored 25 of his combined 27 points in the second half and averaged 7.5 assists. Joseph was 13-of-15 from the free throw line in the two games.
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