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INDIANAPOLIS — Led by Buddy’s second straight 30-point performance and the zone that has a knack for spooking unsuspecting teams in the Big Dance, No. 11 Syracuse (17-9, 9-7 Atlantic Coast) advanced to the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Friday with a 78-62 win over San Diego State (23-5, 14-3 Mountain West).

Syracuse fans have seen this movie before. For the third time in the last five years, the Orange entered the NCAA Tournament as a double-digit seed. Again, Syracuse’s 2-3 zone gave an unsuspecting team fits. And again, it added to its third-most March Madness upsets with a 78-62 victory over SDSU.

Here are three takeaways from SU’s 78-62 win:

Buddy in March

Buddy walked into Hinkle Fieldhouse averaging 25.3 points on 50/40/90 shooting splits in the month of March. This game was different, but Buddy provided more of the same. He was the entirety of Syracuse’s offense, even as he commanded all of SDSU’s pack-line defense’s attention.

He opened the game with a contested 3 from the right wing. When he found Aztecs backup center Joshua Tomaić on him because of a cross-match, he drove to his right and finished a runner off the glass. He sized up the 5-foot-8 Terrell Gomez in the post. His and-1 3-pointer off a curl gave him 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting.

Buddy scored 16 of the Orange’s first 19 points, and the other three points came from a Marek Dolezaj and-1 bucket assisted by Buddy. He even talked some trash — a rarity for the typically soft-spoken guard — and flashed the “he’s too little” gesture.

SDSU double-teamed the junior every time he turned his back to his basket. He countered by being even more decisive, pulling up before the help defense could rotate over. He took two dribbles inside the arc and lifted over Gomez again. He nearly single-handedly out-scored SDSU in the first half, 16 to 18.

The Robin to Buddy’s Batman was Girard. The duo combined for 26 of SU’s 32 first-half points. They shot a combined 10-for-18 from behind the arc and each converted a four-point play. Quincy Guerrier and Alan Griffin didn’t score in the first half, but SU had its superheroes to lean on.

But it all started with Buddy. He opened the second half firing and converting again, hitting a 3-pointer off a ball-screen from Dolezaj. SDSU’s centers are uncomfortable far away from the hoop, and SU exploited that by setting high screens.

When SDSU cut SU’s down to a manageable 11 points, Buddy hit back-to-back treys, including the deep catch-and-shoot off the curl.

Buddy blew out the candle as the shot clock wound down with 6:30 remaining. As the horn blared, Buddy took a spinning dribble, fired a turnaround 30-footer and promptly sunk it. On his walk back on defense, he threw his arms to his side and shrugged.

A sustained run of individual offensive explosion for Buddy would’ve vaulted him into SU lore. With 30 points on 11-for-15 shooting (7-for-10 from 3), Buddy added to what’s becoming a special month in a major way.

Couldn’t hit the ocean from the USS Midway

These two teams last met on a boat.

Syracuse’s 2012-13 season-opener came off the shore of San Diego, on an aircraft carrier called the USS Midway. In that contest, the Aztecs shot 27% from the field and just 42.4% from the free-throw line.

Friday’s game was landlocked, but the Aztecs may as well have been shooting into the wind. They spent the last 9:39 of the first half on a scoring drought as Girard (12 points, six rebounds, seven assists) got hot and led a 18-0 Orange run. In the first half overall, the Aztecs shot 22.6% from the field and 3-for-20 (15%) from deep.

Most of SDSU’s looks early on were clean, but they just didn’t fall. The Aztecs worked the ball around the perimeter and inside to create open shots, but the shooters Syracuse game-planned for were off. Jordan Schakel (46.1% from 3) started 2-for-6 and Gomez (40.2%) opened 0-for-4.

As the shots continued to rim out, SDSU pressed. The ball-movement dissipated. Its offense was in disarray, either sending two players at once to the high post or none at all, limiting its options. San Diego State resorted to deep, contested 3s out of the offense’s flow.

“SDSU is shooting like they’re on the USS Midway,” CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz said at one point during the Aztecs’ nearly 10-minute drought.

There’s a mental component to facing SU’s zone, and the 46th-most efficient 3-point shooting team in the nation seeing so many shots clank appeared to rattle it.

With SDSU’s bricks, Syracuse turned a 18-14 deficit into a 32-18 halftime lead. It was San Diego State’s lowest-scoring half of the season. Stretching into the second half, SDSU missed 14 of 15 3-pointers. There was a clear emphasis on screening the top of the zone and getting inside, but the Aztecs continued to force shots from the outside.

SDSU couldn’t do anything right. It got turned away several times in the paint. Jesse Edwards broke up a lob attempt. The 3s kept turning into long rebounds. And as SDSU went on another 5-minute drought, Robert Braswell, Kadary Richmond and Edwards keyed a 16-1 run.

The Orange forced SDSU into the biggest deficit it faced all season — 19 points — which ballooned to 26.

Containing Mitchell

Aztecs forward Matt Mitchell presented a major threat to Syracuse’s Big Dance chances. He’s a versatile 6-foot-6 forward who scored at all three levels in the Mountain West.

A player with his skill-set is hypothetically an ideal zone-buster. The Mountain West Player of the Year averaged 15.4 points per game on 36% from deep in the regular season.

But against Against Syracuse, he hardly scored at any level.

Mitchell’s decision-making looked a half-beat slow, and he quickly became uncomfortable. Once, Mitchell caught an entry pass at the free-throw line and tried to face up Edwards, but he couldn’t get around him and hoist a good shot over him.

To slow down Mitchell, SU made high-post entry passes tough and let him take as many 3-pointers as he wanted. He obliged, but to no success — Mitchell finished 1-for-9 from deep. He even air-balled a catch-and-shoot attempt in transition. As the game clock ticked down, the senior stood on the sideline with his hands on his knees.

Only Gonzaga has won more regular season games in the last two years than San Diego State. But this year’s group replaced three starters, including Toronto Raptors guard Malachi Flynn. Much of the onus fell on Mitchell’s shoulders. Friday’s dud from him showed how challenging it is to reload on the fly in college basketball.

Published on March 19, 2021 at 11:57 pm

Contact Danny: [email protected] | @DannyEmerman