The Gonzaga-Syracuse 2nd round matchup was suppose to be a good game, and some people even gave Gonzaga the edge because Syracuse was without injured Arinze Onuaku. Onuaku was out for his 2nd consecutive game, but that did not slow down Syracuse as they crushed Gonzaga 87-65 to advance to the Sweet 16. In fact, at times Syracuse looked a lot better playing small minus Onaku.
Syracuse was without their other bigman Rick Jackson for most of the 1st half because of foul trouble. Jackson picked up 3 fouls early in the first half.
Wes Johnson led the Orangemen with 31 points and 14 rebounds, as he showed why he was named Big East Player of the Year. Johnson looked like a man amongst boys.
Syracuse only had a 32-28 lead with 4 minutes left in the first half, but used a 15-4 to go up 47-32 at the half. Andy Rautins came out firing in the 2nd half, hitting 3 3-pointer in the first 3 minutes as he ended any hope in Gonzaga making a comeback. Rautins finished with 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Brandon Triche also added 13. Syracuse made 12 3-pointers as a team.
Before the opening tip, Robert Sacre was overheard calling Syracuse "soft" and a bunch of "pretty boys," encouraging the Zags to take the game to the Orange. Sacre would end up regretting those words, but showed up to play as he ended up with 17 points, 8 reboudns, and 4 steals.
The only other help he got was from Elias Harris, who finished with 24 points and 8 reboudns. Harris did most of his work in the beginning of the game.
Syracuse moves on to Salt Lake City, Utah to play the Butler Bulldogs in the Sweet 16. Butler is currently on the nation's longest win streak of 22 games.
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