BUFFALO, N.Y. — If Western Michigan was going to stun Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, some combination of David Brown and Shayne Whittington was going to be responsible.

The No. 3-seed Orange held Brown to single-digit scoring in its 77-53 win over the No. 14-seed Broncos, but that sometimes happens to the best offensive players against the zone. Whittington was a bit more reliable offensively, but SU’s big men, who have struggled lately, did a good job with one of the best centers in the Mid-American Conference.

Whittington still scored 11 points, but he only attempted seven field goals. WMU struggled to get the ball through the defense and down to the senior as Baye Moussa Keita and Rakeem Christmas were responsible for denying him the ball.

“Rak, I thought, and Baye were really good defensively,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “They made it difficult for him. I think Whittington is a really good player, and I thought we contained him pretty well.”

Keita and Christmas only combined for four total points, but they also combined for 39 total minutes. The only time neither was on the floor was when the Orange had emptied the bench.

Christmas committed four fouls, but he was active on the defensive end. He made his presence known early with a pair of goaltending calls on shots that were headed toward the bottom of the net. Then Keita added two blocks in the second half.

“It was different,” Whittington said. “We’re not really used to seeing that long of a frontline in the MAC.”

Whittington knows that shouldn’t have affected him, though. He didn’t give much credit to the Orange’s big men. Rather, he took the blame himself as WMU made an early exit from the NCAA Tournament.

“I really wasn’t posting up as strong as I should have been,” Whittington said, “and that really attested to that.”

Published on March 20, 2014 at 8:48 pm

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