ST. LOUIS — It didn’t matter who it was. It didn’t matter what they did. The response from the Syracuse cheering section, snugly situated behind the Orange’s bench, was on repeat as the game wound down. Like each of the 200 or so fans were pre-programmed to rise, smile and yell in unison. Like a broken record stuck on the same celebratory song.

As Jim Boeheim cycled through his seven-man rotation while SU pulled away from Middle Tennessee State, the ovations came for reasons big and small. Michael Gbinije’s for scoring seven straight points after the Blue Raiders mounted a small second-half run. Tyler Lydon’s for blocking a shot on back-to-back possessions. Frank Howard’s for sinking a crunch-time mid-range jumper that he’s rarely hit this season.

The list could go on, and at the end of it was the 10th-seeded Orange’s (21-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) 75-50 win over 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee State (23-10, 13-5 Conference USA) at the Scottrade Center on Sunday. After upsetting second-seeded Michigan State on the same court Friday, the Blue Raiders ran into a wall of a 2-3 zone and as balanced an offensive effort the Orange will put together. Two days after a 19-point win over seventh-seeded Dayton, Syracuse’s defense wrangled MTSU’s shot-happy offense and put a period on its Cinderella story.

Now a Sweet 16 matchup with 11th-seeded Gonzaga awaits in Chicago. The Orange — after a 1-5 finish and second-round exit in the ACC tournament just 11 days ago — dances on. And everyone’s taking part.

“It’s defense, that’s what we’ve talked about the last couple of days and heading into the Tournament,” said SU guard Trevor Cooney, nodding to all of those possessions when all five SU players seemed to cover the entire court. “When a Syracuse team makes a run in the Tournament it’s all about that 2-3 zone.”

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Syracuse looked well in control after 20 minutes — poor MTSU shooting and an emphatic Howard-to-Lydon alley-oop creating that image — but a late Blue Raiders push brought the score to 31-27 at the break. Middle Tennessee State then kept the pressure on after halftime, hitting three 3s and twice tying the game while its cheering section filled the arena with sweeping cheers.

But then the zone tightened up and MTSU’s open looks disappeared. On the other end, Gbinije hit two off-balance jumpers before nailing a corner 3. He finished with a game-high 23, Lydon had 14, and Cooney and Roberson both collected 12. Middle Tennessee State had just one player score in double-figures, Darnell Harris with 11, and its scoring quartet of Harris, Giddy Potts, Reggie Upshaw and Perrin Buford shot a combined 11-for-43 from the field.

Center Dajuan Coleman muscled his way inside for two late layups. Howard and Roberson, two spotty shooters at best, made mid-range jumpers. If it’s possible for an entire team to click at once, that’s exactly what happened.

“I knew we weren’t going to lose this game if these guys make a jump shot,” Boeheim said. “But that’s hard to do.”

When the NCAA Tournament bracket was released last Sunday, the logical Syracuse run was this: A winnable game against Dayton on Friday before an inevitable loss to Michigan State on Sunday. The Spartans could have easily been a No. 1 seed. The Spartans were one of the best teams in the country led by one of the country’s best players. The Spartans had their road to the Elite 8, at least, smoothly paved by the Selection Committee.

Then a team from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, turned that logic on its head. When the Blue Raiders beat Michigan State — one of the Tournament’s unlikeliest upsets ever, a real bracket buster — the words “Middle Tennessee State” were permanently etched into college basketball history. But the Orange, whose run is far less notable but now Chicago bound, will always be the biggest benefactor of that win.

 

Margaret Lin | Senior Staff Photographer

 

Not only is SU advancing to the Sweet 16, but the Bulldogs are certainly beatable. After that, should Syracuse win, would be the winner of fourth-seeded Iowa State and a questionably top-seeded Virginia. There’s no saying the Orange will turn this favorable draw into a Final Four run.

Yet now there’s no saying it can’t.

“That’s just the beauty of this tournament, it’s all about matchups and getting hot at the right time,” Cooney said. “Teams that play defense and win the 50-50 balls are normally going to have a good chance to win at the end of the day. We did that the last couple days here and we just have to continue it.”

With about two minutes left, Cooney nailed an end-of-the-clock 3 that gave Syracuse a 23-point lead. Two plays later, a Richardson-to-Roberson alley-oop made it 25. One play later, Gbinije hit a deep 3 that bounced off the back rim before stretching the difference to 28.

As the clock wound down, a dejected Middle Tennessee State team sat slumped on the bench. Some players had their head in their hands. Others leaned back and stared longingly at the overhanging scoreboard as the deficit piled up.

On the other side of the court the SU reserves jumped up and down with every basket. They stared at the videoboard with smiles instead of scowls. They all stayed on their feet.

After all, it’s hard to dance while sitting down.

Published on March 20, 2016 at 8:22 pm

Contact Jesse: [email protected] | @dougherty_jesse