Syracuse Dominates San Diego State to Advance in NCAA Tournament

The Orange put together a complete game and ran the Aztecs out of the building.

Oh, Buddy. Syracuse's defense and Buddy Boeheim's hot hand propel the Orange to the next round.

Buddy Boeheim put on a show for Orange fans (in attendance and at home) ... and it did not take long to get the 6-foot-6 guard going. During a stretch in which Boeheim hit back-to-back triples for the second time in the game, he was four points shy of tieing the Aztecs' point total in the second half (Buddy had 25, Aztecs stood at 29.) Boeheim finished with 30 points on an efficient 11-for-15 shooting from the field. His shooting mate Joe Girard, who has had his ups and downs throughout the season, was on fire towards the end of the first half as he finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and three assists in the opening period. 

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3-point shooting and defense was the story of the game for the Orange ... and the exact opposite can be said about San Diego State, who shot a woeful 3/20 from deep in the first half (11-for-40 in the game). The Aztecs were no better from inside the 3-point arc as SU's defense swarmed shooters, took away easy buckets, and did a great job of using their length as they finished with eight blocks (Robert Braswell, Kadary Richmond, and Marek Dolezaj all with two apiece.) San Diego State finished the game at a 35% clip from the field.

Although SU turned the ball over at a higher rate than the Aztecs (12-to-4), the Orange played phenomenal defense for the majority of the game. Forcing an Aztecs team who came into the game having won 14 straight to shoot 27% from three-point land is representative of how underrated SU's defense has been all year in winning efforts.