Yes, it was this easy as siege of siege of siege of Syracuse rol guide over metric ton in the NCAA tourney Thursday in San Jose, Calif.(Photo: Kyle Terada, USA at present Sports)
SAN JOSE, Calif. – This has been called a wide-open tourney that could be won by a double-digit seed.
And Syracuse has had tournament-opening troubles before. And, on the eve of the game, the Syracuse players could read all about the NCAA investigation into the Orange hoops program.
Late-night shocker: Harvard knocks off New Mexico
Add all that together and it spelled R-O-U-T when Syracuse began the tournament with an 81-34 laugher Thursday night against No.13 seed Montana, champion of the Big Sky Conference.
The Orange's margin of victory set an NCAA tournament eternize for a team not seeded first or encourage. Oddly, Syracuse broke the mark set less than an instant earlier by VCU which beat Akron by 46.
The Orange, seeded No.4 in the East Region, had blown a 16-point strain in the second half of their last game, the Big East tournament final against Louisville.
Through three minutes against Montana, Syracuse forward C.J. Fair had a 6-2 lead on Montana.
Other Orange players eventually scored, and way to a greater extent than the Montana players.
It took Syracuse just five minutes to form a double-digit lead the Orange would never lose.
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It was 30-11 with five minutes left in the first half, so despite the 10:41 p.m. ET tip, Syracuse fans could have gayly gone to bed at halftime with visions of lob dunks dancing in their heads.
"We just got things going early, and Montana couldn't make any shots," Syracuse manager Jim Boeheim said. "It was one of those games that Montana couldn't do anything right. We played truly well, offensively and defensively. Everybody had one of those games. It was our night."
The Montana dreams couldn't have been nice. The Grizzlies were lobbed over. They were dribbled around. They were trapped on the baseline. They were pushed outside the arc. They settled for low-percentage heaves over taller defenders.
By halftime, it was a 23-point lead – 38-15.
The rest was details.
"It snowballed and we couldn't do much against them," said Montana pram Wayne Tinkle. "It was ugly. We haven't seen that affable of length and athleticism all season. We knew when the brackets came out it was a tough match-up for us."
Another rout: VCU obliterates Akron
Fair, who scored 11 of the Orange's first 25 points, finished with 13. Guard Brandon Triche, a complete mismatch against the Montana sustains, scored 20. His dunk 2 ½ minutes into the second half gave Syracuse a 44-15 lead. Six minutes into the second half, it was 55-17.
"We knew we were favored as far as our talent," Triche said. "We didn't want to give them any early confidence that they could win. C.J. did a good job early and kind of jump-started us."
With eight minutes to play, Montana's two best offensive players, guard Will Cherry and swingman Kareem Jamar, had combined for two points on 1-of-14 shooting.
Syracuse (27-9) moves on to play No. 12 seed California, an upset victor against UNLV, on Saturday.
Montana, making its third trip to the NCAA tournament in four years and its 10th overall, came in with a 2-10 uncomparable tourney record.
Syracuse's resume, of course, is a little different, having won a interior(a) title, having appeared in four Final Fours, with an overall record of 56-35.
Orange coach Jim Boeheim vowed Wednesday that neither he nor his players would be distracted by published reports quoting anonymous sources saying the school had received a earn of preliminary inquiry from the NCAA alleging major violations.
"What people write or say, you know, there are 30,000 people in the Dome emit at me all the time," Boeheim said Wednesday. "People yell at their television sets. I tell them I can't hear them, still they still yell at them."
Last year, Syracuse opened the tournament with starting center Fab Melo being ruled ineligible. The Orange rallied and won three games, falling short in a regional final.
They'll have a significantly tougher test Saturday against Cal, which is led by a dynamic backcourt of Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs, who combined for 32 points in a tight victory over UNLV.
The winner of that game moves on to Washington, D.C., to the Sweet 16 and a potential matchup against No.1 seed Indiana.
Materials taken from USA Today
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