Freshman guard Malachi Richardson scored a game-high 23 points to lead the No. 10 Syracuse Orangemen to a shocking 68-62 comeback victory over the No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers in the Elite Eight – NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Midwest Region finals on Easter Sunday, March 27 in Chicago, Ill.
Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson (23) drives past Virginia’s Anthony Gill (13) during the second half of a college basketball game in the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament, Sunday, March 27, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
The bracket-busting upset made Syracuse just the fourth double-digit seeded team to reach the Final Four in tournament history; they’re also the first No. 10 seed to make it to this far.
The Orangemen struggled shooting in the first half and went into halftime trailing by 14 points. The double digit lead lasted for Virginia deep into the second half, until Richardson caught fire scoring. Richardson’s offensive takeover coupled with a stingy full-court press defense that ignited a 20-4 scoring run which helped Syracuse pull off the stunning comeback.
Freshman forward Tyler Lydon also made big plays for the Orangemen. All three of his shots made in the game were timely three-pointers; he finished with 11 points.
Junior guard London Perrantes led Virginia with 18 points; he made six of 10 shots from the three-point arc, but started to miss from deep late in the game once Syracuse made its run.
Syracuse (23-13) advanced to its sixth Final Four appearance in school history and first since 2013. Virginia (29-8) missed out on reaching their first Final Four appears since 1984.
The Orangemen will face No. 1 seed North Carolina, who defeated No. 6 seed Notre Dame late Sunday night, in the Final Four faceoff on April 2.
In the other Elite Eight tourney action:
- No. 2 seed Oklahoma upset No. 1 Oregon, 80-68; and
- No. 2 seed Villanova upset No. 1 Kansas, 64-59;
Oklahoma and Villanova will square off in the Final Four on April 2.