BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It was the last game of the quadruple-header at HSBC Arena, so Syracuse's fans from all over north, west and central New York state had a long time to wait for some measure of redemption. And no doubt, they weren't letting go of the memories of the 2005 NCAA tournament loss. So when Syracuse took the floor for warmups before its West regional first-round game Friday night, the crowed cheered loudly.When the Vermont players followed soon after, the fans booed even more lustily. No, five years had not eased the pain of the 60-57 defeat in overtime in Worcester, Mass.
What did ease the pain was the first 13-1/2 minutes of the rematch, when top-seeded Syracuse ran away from 16th-seeded Vermont, leading 35-10. The game's last 29-plus minutes served only to let the Orange break a sweat while keeping them healthy. The final was 79-56, with the Catamounts never getting closer than 11 points after the first five minutes.
Speaking of health, it turned out to be safe to rest forward Arinze Onuaku and his strained quadriceps after all. Still, coach Jim Boeheim had said Thursday that Onuaku was doubtful to play in a possible second-round game; that game, against eighth-seeded Gonzaga, is now assured for Sunday (at 12:10 p.m. ET).
Kris Joseph started in Onuaku's place and held it down well, with eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals, mostly in the first half. Five Syracuse players scored in double figures. The Orange outrebounded Vermont 40-29 and had 24 assists on 30 baskets.
Still, it was an impressive display of balance. "I think we were very active, using our athleticism to get on the boards and try to limit them to one chance, one and out,'' said Wes Johnson, who led all scorers with 18 points. "Really, if we get on the boards and Scoop and Andy fill the lanes, we can get out in transition a lot.''
Vermont's Maurice Joseph, Kris's older brother, hit a three-pointer for the first points of the game a minute in, and that was pretty much the highlight for the America East champ. Syracuse (29-4) scored the next 11 points, and Vermont (25-10) missed its next nine shots. By the midway point of the half, all the Syracuse starters and backup guard Scoop Jardine had scored.
"Our defense was better at the beginning,'' Boeheim said. "That was the big key. We gave them one early, and after that we covered them. ... When our defense is better, it picks up our offense, and our offense kind of gets going.''
Jardine capped the outburst that gave Syracuse that 25-point lead with a nasty crossover drive off a Wes Johnson dish on the break for a layup, foul and three-point play with 6:39 left in the first half. Jardine led all players with 11 points in the half as Syracuse cruised in with a 37-25 lead at the break; he finished with 14.
Marqus Blakely, the senior forward and his conference's player of the year, scored 17 points for Vermont.
Key Element
Boeheim soaked up the constant reminders of the 2005 game all week, yet even while his players spoke of having extra motivation to avenge the upset, the coach simply had Syracuse keep doing what it did best. And one of its best traits this season was never letting lesser teams sneak up on them. It likely didn't hurt that the day had begun with Big East brethren West Virginia falling behind 10-0 to Morgan State, serving as a nice object lesson to the Orange.
Game Ball Goes To
Johnson, who is one of the most unselfish go-to players you'll ever see. He takes over when he has to and doesn't when he doesn't have to, and is not only content with others getting theirs when the chances come, he creates space for them to and sets them up. On Friday he put up good numbers -- the 18 points, plus six rebounds, two blocks and three steals -- which still didn't do justice to how well he played. Jardine made the play of the night on the crossover for the three-point play in the first half, and afterward he gave the credit to Johnson for setting him up.
Heart Goes Out To
Vermont's Evan Fjeld. The junior forward's mother, a regular attendee at his games while battling breast cancer, died during the America East tournament, and Fjeld had to tell his team after having kept the severity of her condition to himself for the previous two months. The team rallied around him in the final days before the conference title game, and he made the all-tournament team. The loss Friday, in which he scored 13 points, ends an alternately exhilarating and heart-wrenching two weeks for him.
What's Next
Syracuse faces Gonzaga in Sunday's West Regional second-round game, in what should be one of the more entertaining, up-tempo tantalizing games of the weekend -- as well as one of the better upset possibilities with the way Gonzaga played most of its first-round game against Florida State.
Quotable
Syracuse guard Andy Rautins, on his team and West Virginia redeeming the Big East after the nightmare of the day before: "No doubt in my mind the Big East is the best conference in the country. We still have the best teams. Just the first-round games are always a little bit tough, maybe more so in our bracket. We came out ready to play.''
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GO CUSE...WHY R THEY SO UNDERATEDET????
GO CUSE--- PROVE TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY THAT THE BIG EAST IS THE BEST CONFERENCE----- LETS GO ORANGE!!!