Syracuse shows who's boss
BUFFALO — Syracuse has exacted its revenge. Now, it's time for the Orange to move on to loftier goals.
Bursting out with a fury, top-seeded SU took control early, had a slight hiccup late in the first half, then corrected itself throughout the second half to beat No. 16 Vermont 79-56 in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament's West Regional on Friday night at HSBC Arena.
SU (29-4) will meet No. 8 Gonzaga (27-6) in the second round here at 12:10 p.m. on Sunday. Gonzaga topped No. 9 Florida State 67-60 in Friday's other West Region game before 18,948 fans.
And now, SU fans can forever put that 60-57 overtime loss to the Catamounts in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament deep into the recesses of their minds.
Wes Johnson led five SU players in double figures with 18 points. Scoop Jardine added 14, Rick Jackson 12, Andy Rautins 11, and Brandon Triche reached double figures for the first time since Feb. 2 with 10 points as SU's balance paid dividends as it has all season.
The Big East regular season champ Orange denied the America East Conference tournament-winning Catamounts (25-10) another huge upset in their first NCAA appearance since that fateful win five years ago.
"We just came out aggressive on both ends, and that helped us get off to such a fast start," said Rautins, who also had eight rebounds and six assists. "When we got passive for a few minutes, they took advantage. But then we made some adjustments the second half and pulled away."
SU coach Jim Boeheim said the emphasis this week was on getting back the tough defensive mentality the Orange had possessed much of the season.
"And I think we did that tonight," Boeheim said. "We were also very good on offense, with everybody contributing."
Leading 37-25 halftime after squandering a 25-point lead, SU made four 3-pointers (two each by Rautins and Triche) to regain the momentum and boost the margin back to 19 points at the first TV timeout of the second half.
Vermont tried to mount a couple of comebacks over the final 10 minutes, but got no closer than 14 points as SU coasted behind a predominantly Orange-clad crowd that booed the Catamounts lustily at every turn.
"We did a better job of communicating on defense, and locating their shooters," Jardine said. "Then we trapped the corners well and our big guys did a nice job of getting some blocks near the hoop (SU made eight). That's how we usually play defense."
Just when it appeared the Orange would blast the Catamounts back to Burlington, moving to a 25-point lead with 61/2-minutes left in the first half, SU got very sloppy on both ends.
The Orange managed just two points over the closing minutes and Vermont worked its way back into the game by scoring 15 of the final 17 points to close within 37-25.
The Catamounts began the half shooting just 6-for-30, but made their final five shots. In contrast, SU was executing beautifully, shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor, when it missed the final five shots and finished 15-for-31 (48.4 percent).
"Our entire focus this week was on defense and not allowing Vermont to get into any kind of offensive rhythm," Johnson said. "For my first NCAA Tournament, that was very exciting and a lot of fun."
Even though SU was a huge favorite, the Orange came out with maximum intensity and took it to the Catamounts right from the opening tip.
After Vermont hit a 3-pointer to begin the game, SU scored the next 11 points.
A Johnson 3-pointer then extended the Orange lead to 15-5 with just under 13 minutes left in the half.
Jardine made an impact for the Orange as he came off the bench to score 11 quick points as SU expanded the lead to 35-10. That's when Vermont started outworking the Orange and the game was back on. But only for a few minutes.
Boeheim rotated line-ups continuously with starting center Arinze Onuaku sidelined with a quad injury. Freshman center DaShonte Riley gave the Orange 12 solid minutes off the bench, and Mookie Jones also saw five minutes of action after coming back from a hand injury that kept him out of the Big East Tournament.
