The Syracuse Orange rallied back from a deficit but ultimately came up short in a 63-59 loss to the Butler Bulldogs.
Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone actually did it’s job, forcing Butler into a terrible night shooting from behind the arc.
Unfortunately, the Orange turned the ball over 18 times to give Butler plenty of fast-break points.
Syracuse was considered the favorite to get to the national championship game, along with Kentucky, after Kansas went down.
The team was without their starting center for the tournament, but it’s still a very disappointing loss after such a strong season.
Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 11:21 am by steve
By Bud L. Ellis
Down 10 points at halftime, the Syracuse Orange started the second half of their West Regional semifinal Thursday night on a 15-4 run. Surely, this would be where the No. 1 seed in the West would take control.
Instead, it was Butler who hung tough, then ripped off an 11-0 run down the stretch. As a result, the Orange’s NCAA dreams – and stay in this NCAA Tournament – ended with a 63-59 loss in Salt Lake City.
Instead of moving on to the West Regional final, instead of playing for a berth in the Final Four, it’s over for Syracuse (30-5), a team that started the season unranked and yet elevated itself through the rugged Big East conference to a No. 1 ranking in the nation in the season’s final month.
Wes Johnson led Syracuse with 17 points and added nine rebounds. Syracuse was doomed by 18 turnovers, which equalized Butler’s poor shooting night from the 3-point line.
Syracuse led 54-50 with 5:23 left, but the Bulldogs scored the game’s next 11 points to take control and end the Orange’s season.
—30—
Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 10:08 pm by bud
Tags: Big East Conference, Butler, Final Four, NCAA Tournament, Syracuse Orange, Wes Johnson
The No. 4 Syracuse Orange made a case from the No. 1 ranking with a 95-77 throttling of the No. 8 Villanova Wildcats.
Syracuse set an attendance record at the Carrier Dome for the largest on-campus crowd to ever watch a college basketball game.
They made sure all of those in attendance did not leave disappointed, jumping on the Wildcats from the first whistle and never let up.
Syracuse had six players score in double figures. Rick Jackson led the way with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
With Kansas, Kentucky and Purdue all losing over the weekend, it seems very likely that Syracuse will be the new No. 1 team in the country.
Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 9:33 am by steve
