Syracuse beats K-State, back in Sweet 16

PITTSBURGH -- Deep into a discombobulating week, Kris Joseph turned to fellow senior Scoop Jardine in the Syracuse locker room and said, "Thank God for two halves of basketball.''

This was Saturday afternoon, four days after the Orange learned they had lost center Fab Melo, two days after nearly losing to 16th-seeded North Carolina Asheville and one day after they watched on television as a pair of No. 2 seeds fell in quick succession.

This was no way for the NCAA Tournament to unfold for a No. 1 seed, even more so when they found themselves with a mere one-point lead over Kansas State, a team playing without its second-leading scorer, a team that shot 23.5 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.

Then, suddenly, it all changed. Soon Syracuse was doing its part to restore order to the tournament in general and to its season in particular with a 75-59 victory in an NCAA East Regional third-round game.

The Orange advanced to the Sweet 16 and a game against Wisconsin Thursday in Boston. It will be Syracuse's third regional semifinal appearance in four years and 17th overall.

"We picked it up on both ends of the floor, especially on the defensive end," Joseph said of the second-half tour de force during which Syracuse (33-2) outscored No. 8 seed K-State 50-35 and made two-thirds of its field-goal tries -- including 5-for-5 on three-pointers. "That's how we're supposed to play."

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, whose 47th career NCAA victory tied John Wooden for fifth place all-time, said, "It's been a while since we've knocked down shots like that.''

Jardine made all three of his three-pointers in the second half, during which he had 14 of his 16 points, five of his eight assists and only two of his six turnovers. "That's how we need him to play,'' Joseph said of Jardine, who joked that he thought he was playing well in the first half.

Said Boeheim, "In spite of what he may think, he really struggled. He made some bad decisions. I don't know what he was doing on a couple of those plays.''

Syracuse had a 19-2 run in the first half but still led by only 25-24 when it was over, in large part because Kansas State (22-11) outrebounded the Orange 28-16 (15-3 on the offensive boards) in the half. In the second half, Syracuse had an 18-13 edge in rebounds.

Freshman center Rakeem Christmas, starting in place of Melo, enjoyed a breakout performance, finishing with eight points (all in the second half), 11 rebounds and three blocks. Dion Waiters had 18 points in 24 minutes off the bench.

Kansas State announced 25 minutes before tipoff that senior forward Jamar Samuels, its second-leading scorer (10.0 points per game) and leading rebounder (6.6), would be held out because of an eligibility concern.

Coach Frank Martin grew emotional in recounting his discussion with Samuels on Friday night. He would not go into detail on the eligibility issue but said that in his opinion, the player had done nothing wrong.

CBSSports.com reported that Samuels was benched because of a $200 wire transfer he received from his summer-league coach, Curtis Malone, who told the site, "The kid didn't do anything wrong. To be honest, I didn't think I did anything wrong, either. If a kid who plays for me needs money to eat, I'm going to help them.''

Without Samuels as an offensive threat, the Wildcats struggled to solve Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense. Center Jordan Henriquez had 14 points and 17 rebounds, but leading scorer Rodney McGruder was held to 15 points and 5-for-13 shooting. An ankle injury slowed him for much of the game.

Syracuse had not won a game by double-digits in a month. By the end of Saturday's game, it had turned into a welcome laugher for a team that has had little to laugh about lately.