SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -Quick turnaround? OK. Starting center out with an injury? No problem. Syracuse has overcome every obstacle thrown in its path.
“Syracuse basketball is about being ready to play and being consistent,” coach Jim Boeheim said. “We’re usually ready to play.”
The Orange (30-4) meet Butler (30-4) on Thursday night in the semifinals of the West Regional at Salt Lake City, and the fifth-seeded Bulldogs already have a leg up. They’ll have one more day to rest than top-seeded Syracuse.
“I think it’s a tough turnaround for us. We have to go a long ways. They did us no favors,” Boeheim said. “But we have to do what we’ve been doing. That’s the good thing. We don’t have to do anything other than play the way we’ve been playing. That’s what we’ve done all year.”
diately scheduled to play Gonzaga in Sunday’s first game, which started just after noon.
There hasn’t been much to worry about, really. Syracuse won its first two games by an average of 22.5 points – and without starting center Arinze Onuaku, whose status for the remainder of the NCAA tournament is unknown.
His absence was sorely missed in the opening minutes against Gonzaga. Elias Harris opened the game with a soaring alley-oop dunk, catching the Syracuse defense by surprise. Harris continued his personal attack as the Zags kept feeding 7-foot center Robert Sacre in the lane in an effort to get Onuaku’s replacement, forward Rick Jackson, in foul trouble.
The strategy worked when Jackson went to the bench with his third foul with 8:58 left in the first half and Syracuse clinging to a one-point lead.
Enter 7-foot freshman DaShonte Riley, who had logged 125 minutes in the 14 games he saw action during the season and another 12 in the first-round win over Vermont.
“There’s no question that was a very trying moment because they were playing well, and they’ve got post people that were hurting us,” Boeheim said. “He made a couple of plays in there that made a big difference. I mean, a big difference.”
the other way – he acquitted himself well.
“He played with a lot of confidence and he gave us a real big spark off the bench, making people take tough shots,” said Wes Johnson, who had a career-high 31 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the Orange attack.
When Riley fouled out in the closing minutes, he left the court with zero points, no rebounds, three turnovers, one assist and one steal.
“His stat line doesn’t show it, but I thought he was very productive defensively and offensively when he was in there,” Boeheim said. “He gave us some really good minutes in the stretch of the game when it was really close there. He made a good steal, made a good pass, chipped a couple of balls.”
Onuaku, who injured his right knee against Georgetown in the Big East tournament, had not practiced with the team before last weekend, and Boeheim said he wouldn’t insert a player in a game who hadn’t practiced.
His absence has forced Boeheim to switch to a smaller lineup featuring Kris Joseph, who excelled all season coming off the bench. Joseph has struggled somewhat offensively in the tournament, scoring just 13 points in the two games (he averaged more than 11 during the season), but he’s been a force on the boards with 15 rebounds and he had six assists against the Catamounts.
have to do before. He’s not playing the way he’s capable of playing.”
The team practiced behind closed doors after it returned home Sunday, and Onuaku’s status remains day-to-day. His injury likely prevented the Orange from being the top seed in the South, where Duke is No. 1. But that’s all behind them now, as is the losing streak Syracuse took into the first round.
“Coming into the tournament, we had lost two games straight. People kind of turned their heads,” guard Scoop Jardine said. “Then we lost Arinze. We knew it was a good team all year and we could stick together and just play basketball.”
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