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NCAA Tournament: Syracuse edges Gonzaga to reach the Elite Eight

By Steven Massucci

Mar 25, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Syracuse Orange guard Trevor Cooney (10) steals an inbound pass to Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Silas Melson (0) but is ruled out of bounds during the second half in a semifinal game in the Midwest regional of the NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 25, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Syracuse Orange guard Trevor Cooney (10) steals an inbound pass to Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Silas Melson (0) but is ruled out of bounds during the second half in a semifinal game in the Midwest regional of the NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports /
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Syracuse advances to its third NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in five years after a late rally against Gonzaga.

This wasn’t a battle between your typical double digit teams.

Gonzaga has made 18 NCAA Tournaments in a row and Jim Boeheim and Syracuse always seem to be a big factor in the Big Dance.

But Boeheim’s unit got the better of Mark Few and company on Friday night in Chicago as the Orange edged out the Bulldogs, 63-60, in the Sweet 16.

Kyle Wiltjer were absolutely fantastic in the match-up, as he scored 23 points, including four 3-pointers, while Domantas Sabonis was a beast down low, grabbing 17 rebounds, swatting five shots, and scoring 19 points on his way to a double-double.

However, their effort came up just short as the Zags went scoreless in the last 1:54, allowing the Orange to sneak by with a three point win.

Syracuse was able to stay with Gonzaga for a myriad of reasons, the main one being that Wiltler’s and Sabonis’ supporting cast only could account for 18 combined points. The guard play surrounding the big men had been more than good enough to get the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16, but they came up just short Friday.

Related Story: Kansas rolls past Maryland, heads to Elite Eight

For Cuse, senior Michael Gbinije was a key part of the offense as he was able to penetrate the lane and carve up Gonzaga’s inside defense. Boeheim’s zone defense held Gonzaga’s offense in check and was able to overcome diaper dandy Malachi Richardson‘s poor shooting night.

Most notably for the Orange, Tyler Roberson was able to pull down an astounding nine offensive rebounds. He was able to keep key drives alive late after some missed shots and help the Orange finish off some critical second chance opportunities.

The first half was highlighted by the sharp-shooting of Wiltjer to get the Zags a big lead. Then, the play from Franklin Howard off the bench and the scoring from Gbinije brought the deficit to one by halftime.

In the second half, a Sabonis put-back set Mark Few’s team up nine with 6:26 to play.

With less than three minutes remaining, Syracuse decided to press, changing the complexion of the game. As many teams have demonstrated so far in the tournament, Gonzaga showed a complete ineptitude to break the press. This allowed them to chip away at the lead and after Sabonis split free-throws, the Orange were only down two.

A Gbinije layup with 22 seconds left put Syracuse up one.

With 12 second left the game got controversial. Trevor Cooney intercepted a Gonzaga inbound pass into the corner and was either fouled or called a timeout. However, the referee at half-court made the call that he was out-of-bounds.

Even though replay showed that Cooney was clearly in-bounds, refs didn’t have authority to overturn the call and it was Gonzaga ball.

On the ensuing play, Tyler Lydon had one of his six blocks on a Josh Perkins runner at the last second. He pulled down his own board and hit his free-throws to put the win on ice for Syracuse.

More busting brackets: East Region Sweet 16 Preview

The Orange will play Virginia in the Elite Eight on Sunday in an all-ACC Midwest Region final.