Sports

Syracuse easily bags Gonzaga, earns date with Butler

BUFFALO — The HSBC Center was an Orange Asylum, with Syracuse fans turning this NCAA tournament second-round showdown against Gonzaga into March Midnight Madness.

Then a whistle blew with 8:58 left in the first half of what was still a taut contest, and Carrier Dome West got so quiet you could hear a No. 1 seed drop.

’Cuse forward Rick Jackson had just been called for his third foul.

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“No question it was a very trying moment,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

Because of how the Orange responded to their first encounter with adversity in this tournament, there’s no question they deserved their top seed.

Already without starting center Arinze Onuaku (quad) and with Jackson on the bench, Syracuse zapped the Zags with a 25-9 run and went on to a dominating 87-65 win.

The Orange (30-4) will meet Butler on Thursday in a Sweet 16 game in Salt Lake City. Despite the impressive win, in which Syracuse led by as much as 76-44, Orange fans know this undermanned team probably can’t reach the Final Four without Onuaku.

With 3:33 left, the Orange faithful began a chant of “A-O!” The Orange were A-OK because they shot 60 percent in the first half and 54.7 percent for the game.

“In the tournament, there’s no changing,” said Boeheim. “You have to do what you’ve been doing.”

Syracuse has been doing it all season, despite the loss of Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris.

The Orange were not a preseason Top 25 pick and they were an afterthought in the Big East.

When Syracuse closed the season with two straight losses then lost Onuaku in the Big East tournament, “people kind of turned their heads,” said guard Scoop Jardine.

Yet, Boeheim is clearly smitten by this group, which for the 30th time in 30 wins shot better from the field than its opponent. Wes Johnson had 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Andy Rautins added 24 on 5-of-9 shooting on 3-point attempts.

“This team has come to play every game,” said the Hall of Fame coach, who immediately began working to make sure his team would be ready for Butler.

Boeheim said he’s had Butler in his Top 10 ballot since the beginning of the season. He bemoaned the fact that the NCAA tournament selection committee gave his team a noon tip yesterday and a Thursday game in Utah.

But with Brandon Triche (13 points on 5-of-9 shooting) having broken out of his slump (5-for-10 on 3-point attempts in the tourney) and Johnson seemingly fully recovered from a mid-season hand injury, maybe the Orange can overcome the loss of Onuaku, who is doubtful for this weekend.

“They’re really good,” said Gonzaga star Matt Bouldin. “I think they have a legitimate shot at going really deep in the tournament. Of the teams we’ve played, probably the best we’ve played.”

lenn.robbins@nypost.com