Big East rolling on
WASHINGTON — Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim knows full well that one of the secrets to success for his team’s 2-3 zone defense is the way it confounds opponents who aren’t used to playing against that suffocating system.
The No. 4-seeded Orange won’t have that element in their favor in the NCAA tournament’s East Regional final.
That’s because Syracuse will face a familiar foe Saturday with a Final Four berth at stake: Big East rival Marquette, the East’s No. 3 seed.
“We’re much better when we play teams that don’t know us,” Boeheim said. “Marquette knows us. They know how to play against us, so it will be very difficult.”
Paced by Michael Carter-Williams’ 24 points, Syracuse reached the round of eight with some dominant defense during a 61-50 victory over top-seeded Indiana in the regional semifinals Thursday night. The Orange forced 19 turnovers, blocked 10 shots, and limited the Hoosiers to 33 percent shooting while holding them to their lowest scoring output of the season.
“In practice, it’s hard to simulate how tall they really are,” said Indiana’s Jordan Hulls, a 6-foot senior who was at least 4 inches shorter than the players usually guarding him and went 0 for 6 on 3-point tries. “We had the right game plan. We prepared really well. But we had too many turnovers.”
Three more, in fact, than shots made (16).
“Let’s face facts. We haven’t seen a zone like that,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “They’re very good. They’re where they’re at for a reason.”
Next up is Marquette (26-8), which beat No. 2 seed Miami 71-61 in Thursday’s first game in Washington.
Syracuse (29-9), heading to the Atlantic Coast Conference this summer, lost at Marquette 74-71 during the Big East regular season on Feb. 25.
Marquette 71, Miami 61WASHINGTON — Buzz Williams has never been this far in the NCAA tournament before, so it might take a while for him to deal with it.The Marquette coach was just as irritable in victory as he might have been in defeat Thursday night after his Golden Eagles beat Miami 71-61 to put the school in the Elite Eight for the first time in a decade.Williams and the third-seeded Golden Eagles (26-8) will face No. 4 seed Syracuse in the East Regional final on Saturday, aiming for a spot in the Final Foul for the first time since the 2003 team lead by Dwyane Wade.Marquette was knocked out in the round of 16 the past two years, and the team appeared headed for an earlier exit this year before pulling off the rallies that beat Davidson by one point and Butler by two.This game was nothing like that. The Golden Eagles were never threatened after taking a double-digit lead in the first half. It’s a good thing Vander Blue made his buzzer-beater before halftime. This time, Marquette didn’t need one at the end of the game.“It’s fantastic. It feels good not to have to worry about, are you going to lose on a last-second shot or are you going to win on a last-second shot?” said Jamil Wilson, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. “To have a cushion like that, these guys played with tremendous heart, and we did it all game.”The Hurricanes (29-7) made only 35 percent of their field goals and missed 18 of 26 3-pointers.Shane Larkin scored 14 points to lead the No. 2 seed Hurricanes, whose NCAA run to the round of 16 matched the best in school history.
Ohio State 73, Arizona 70LOS ANGELES — When LaQuinton Ross found out Ohio State was using the Los Angeles Lakers’ dressing room this weekend, he immediately called dibs on Kobe Bryant’s locker for the first NCAA tournament game ever played at Staples Center.And with a dramatic flair that would make No. 24 proud, Ross sent the Buckeyes to the brink of another Final Four.Ross hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer on a pass from Aaron Craft with 2 seconds to play, and Ohio State advanced to the West Regional final with a 73-70 victory over Arizona on Thursday night.Ross scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half for the second-seeded Buckeyes (29-7), who rallied from an early 11-point deficit.
Wichita State 72, LaSalle 58LOS ANGELES — Malcolm Armstead and his Wichita State teammates told each other they could be a Final Four team last summer.Now the Shockers are one win away from a place the program hasn’t been since 1965.Armstead scored 18 points, Carl Hall added 16 and freshman Ron Baker had 13 for the ninth-seeded Shockers in their latest win.
