SAN JOSE, Calif. — So much for being concerned about distractions. News of a continuing NCAA investigation into their basketball program clearly had no effect on the current Syracuse players as the fourth-seeded Orange whipped 13th-seeded Montana 81-34 last night in an East Region second-round game at HP Pavilion.
It was the most lopsided victory in NCAA Tournament history for a team seeded third or worse, breaking a mark set about an hour earlier by VCU against Akron.
The Orange flexed their Big East muscle — or is that ACC muscle — early in the game, racing to a 20-4 lead before the Grizzlies, winners of the Big Sky Conference Tournament, knew what hit them. It was never really close after that. Syracuse will play 12th-seeded Cal tomorrow with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16.
“It was a great team effort,” Syracuse guard Michael Carter-Williams said. “Everyone played great. We were confident we could come in and play well and win big and make a statement.”
Coming off three wins in the Big East Tournament before losing the championship game to Louisville, Syracuse
(27-9) scored almost at will. The Orange’s size overpowered Montana (25-7) inside, while senior forward James Southerland and junior forward C.J. Fair found plenty of room for open jump shots.
Carter-Williams and Brandon Triche hardly broke a sweat. By halftime Syracuse led 38-15 and shifted into cruise control. Triche had 20 points to lead Syracuse, while also got 13 from Fair. The Orange shot 52 percent from the field, while Montana made just 20.4 percent.
“This was a game where we knew we had to come out and play,” Fair said. “We couldn’t give them any confidence and let them stick around.”
It was an impressive showing, considering all the fuss stirred on Wednesday when various media outlets reported the NCAA was conducting an on-going investigation into the school’s basketball program. No penalties are expected to be announced soon, if ever, though it’s logical the NCAA wouldn’t continue an investigation unless it believes a valid reason exists. That will be for another day.
For now the Orange have to be happy with its performance last night. It was the equivalent of a one-sided sparring session. It also had to be especially satisfying considering what happened the last time they were a fourth seed playing the 13th seed. That was in 2005 when Syracuse was beaten 60-57 in overtime by Vermont. It was one of the more bitter losses in the school’s postseason history.
There was never any danger of an upset last night. Syracuse came out as if it intended to prove a point, shooting 56 percent from the field in the first half to just 20 percent for an overwhelmed Montana. It looked like the varsity playing the J.V., though the Grizzlies weren’t considered slouches.
They had won their previous six games, and junior forward Kareem Jamar was the Big Sky’s most valuable player after averaging 14.5 points a game during the regular season. But Jamar had zero points in the first half last night, going 0-for-4 from the field. He finished with five points.
“Defensively we were awesome,” Carter-Williams said. “We heard a few people talking they might come in and upset. We didn’t take them lightly at all. We just went out there and played our game and we had good results.”
george.willis@nypost.com