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WASHINGTON — Less than one month ago, Syracuse barely looked worthy of being in the Big East Tournament. Today, the Orange are two games from conquering college basketball.
Coach Jim Boeheim and company cut down the nets in the NCAA Tournament yesterday for the first time since Carmelo Anthony led the charge in 2003, grinding out a 55-39 win in the East Region final over No. 3 Marquette at the Verizon Center to earn a trip to the Final Four next weekend in Atlanta.
The game wasn’t pretty, with No. 4 Syracuse (30-9) shooting 38 percent from the field and 5-of-17 on 3-pointers, but the aesthetics of the postgame celebration weren’t any less amazing to the pro-Orange crowd, particularly after last year’s Elite Eight loss to Ohio State.
Marquette missed its opportunity to make its first Final Four in a decade, only briefly holding the lead on a Vander Blue 3-pointer to open the game. Syracuse didn’t score until three minutes had been played, but Michael Carter-Williams’ aggressiveness, carried over from his career-high 24-point performance in the Orange’s upset of top-seeded Indiana, and gave Syracuse its first lead, 4-3, on a drive less than four minutes in. And thus began an Orange avalanche.
The Golden Eagles (26-9) may have been familiar with Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, but the baskets looked absolutely foreign to them, hitting only 22.6 percent from the field. That included 3-of-25 on 3-pointers. Marquette didn’t force shots, but did force passes, with Syracuse’s zone creating seven early turnovers.
As Marquette opened 1-for-10 from the field, Syracuse spread the floor, with James Southerland scoring eight points in the first half with two 3-pointers. The Queens native finished with a game-high 16 points, while Carter-Williams added 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. He was named the region’s most outstanding player.
President Obama watched from a luxury box and the crowd went crazy when his picture flashed on the video screen. The crowd got nearly as loud after Brandon Triche scored five straight points to give Syracuse an 18-7 lead with 7:47 left.
While Syracuse’s first-half lead hit 12, coach Jim Boeheim stood on the sidelines looking like he was waiting to hear his name called to see a doctor. On the other end of the scorer’s table, Marquette coach Buzz William paced and screamed like an emergency room wouldn’t have provided urgent enough care.
The passion paid off, embodied by big man Davante Gardner, who owned Syracuse in Marquette’s regular-season win. After one made shot, the junior yelled and pounded his chest, having found room at the high post, which he repeatedly took advantage of. He opened 4-of-5 from the field with nine first-half points, closing Marquette’s deficit to 21-18 with just over three minutes left in the half.
Then, after nearly five minutes without a point, Southerland hit a 3-pointer to give Syracuse a 24-18 halftime lead.
The second-half started even uglier than the first, with the Golden Eagles making 5-of-17 shots from the field and the Syracuse section standing for more than five minutes until the Orange made its first field goal of the half.
Blue, who had made it possible for Marquette to make it as far as the Golden Eagles did, was unable to shoulder the load once more, sharing a team-high 14 points with Gardner, while shooting only 3-of-15 from the field. He cut the lead to four on a 3-point play less than two minutes into the half, but the Golden Eagles wouldn’t get any closer.