Although Syracuse led by double digits for a fair amount of the opening half, Middle Tennessee fought back to cut its deficit to 31-27 at halftime as the Orange missed six of seven free throws.
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Today the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders aim for another huge upset against the Syracuse Orange for a shot at the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Middle Tennessee opened the half with back-to-back triples by Jaqawn Raymond and Potts to take a 33-31 lead.
After a closely played first half between Syracuse and Middle Tennessee, the Orange turned a four-point lead into a 20-point one across a dominant seven minute stretch in the second half.
After sinking almost 56 percent in a 90-81 upset of No. 2 seed Michigan State on Friday, the Blue Raiders managed to make a measly 29.7 percent from the field against Syracuse’s active 2-3 zone.
“To win these games”, the Orange’s Trevor Cooney said, “I mean, it’s unbelievable”.
Gbinije’s 3-pointer at the 11:23 mark put the Orange ahead 50-41.
The Bulldogs beat No. 3 seed Utah 82-59 to advance to the round of 16.
Though Syracuse got some good fortune in the draw to avoid facing Michigan State in the second round, its pair of commanding victories here – including Friday against a Dayton team that won the Atlantic 10 regular season title – seemingly justified the selection committee’s decision to include the Orange despite losing five of its final six games prior to the tournament.
Raymond finally stopped the bleeding with his third triple of the contest, but the Orange began to run down the clock with a large lead already in place and the game clock below six minutes. “That was our focus for the night, to really give it to them on the defensive end thats what we were able to do”.
CBS has announced the tip times for this week’s NCAA Tournament games and the Orange’s Sweet 16 matchup with Gonzaga (28-7) at the United Center in Chicago isn’t scheduled to start until 9:40 p.m. Eastern time.
“We have to make sure we understand there’s a lot to be done, a lot that can be done”.
Due to the success the ACC has enjoyed in the tournament this year, Boeheim was posed a question as to whether the conference is better than the old Big east, to which he replied, per Carlson, “You know I’m never going to say that”. Gbinije followed with a dunk, forcing a Blue Raiders’ timeout.
Syracuse: Cooney and Tyler Roberson scored 12 points apiece…. It added up to the program’s 19th Sweet 16 appearance. And despite finishing the game 8-of-24 from behind the arc after a stronger second half, the Orange stymied the Blue Raiders from deep for the majority of the game.
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The final score notwithstanding, this was still a weekend to remember for Middle Tennessee, even though it failed to join Florida Gulf Coast (2013) as a No. 15 seed that reached the tourney’s second weekend.
