The 1-seed Syracuse Orange advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, taking out the 8-seed Kansas St. Wildcats 75-59 on Saturday. Both the Wildcats and the Orange were shorthanded in the paint for the game. Fab Melo's ineligibility has been well-documented and discussed for the Orange, but just 15 minutes prior to tip off the Wildcats found out that they would be without Jamar Samuels due to eligibility concerns.
2012 NCAA Bracket, Syracuse Vs. Kansas State Score: Orange Advance To Sweet 16 With 75-59 Win
The Wildcats didn’t miss his 10.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, at least for the first three-quarters of the game. Jordan Henriquez had a monster day on the boards, hauling in 17 rebounds, 11 of which came on the offensive end. He added 12 points for his third double-double in six games. He also did some of this:
Henriquez left the game briefly after picking up his third foul with 16 minutes to go, prompting the Orange to unleash a 12-2 run without the Wildcat big man defending in the paint and take a 45-34 lead.
The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to pull back within five points, but that was as close as they got for the rest of the game. Scoop Jardine and James Southerland picked up where Dion Waiters and Kris Joseph left off in the first half. The two went a combined 5-for-5 on 3-pointers in the second half. Jardine finished with 16 points as well as eight assists.
Southerland added 15 points while Waiters led the team with 18, scoring seven in the second half.
Kansas State continued to rebound well inside of the Orange’s 2-3 zone, though not nearly as well as they did in the first half. They finished with 37-31 advantage on the boards, 22 of which came on the offensive end. At halftime they were rebounding 54 percent of their misses with 14 offense boards. They recorded eight more offensive rebounds after intermission compared to six for Syracuse. Rakeem Christmas hauled in 11 rebounds to lead the Orange.
Rodney McGruder paced the Wildcats with 17 points on the night on 6-for-14 shooting. Kansas State had four players reach double-digits in points, but got zero points from its bench. For the game, they shot just 31.3 percent from the field compared to 51.1 percent for the Orange.
With the win, Syacuse will move on to face the winner between the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Wisconsin Badgers. That game will be played at 6:10 p.m. ET on Saturday.
For up-to-the-minute scores on all NCAA Tournament games, please check out SI.com’s complete scoreboard.
For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation’s Saturday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation’s NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.
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