Temple pulled off one of college basketball's biggest upsets this season on Saturday, defeating the No. 3 Syracuse Orange, 83-79.
No. 3 Syracuse vs. Temple: Owls upset Orange, 83-79
Khalif Wyatt scored 33 points, as the Temple Owls upset the No. 3 Syracuse Orange on Saturday, 83-79.
USA TODAY Sports
Syracuse hadn’t even trailed in the second half of any game this season -- until Saturday.
The Orange took a modest two-point lead into halftime, after outscoring Temple in the first half, 40-38. The Owls came out in the second half on a 10-1 scoring run, giving Temple a 48-41 lead just four minutes into the second half.
The Owls and Orange went back-and-forth throughout the second half, but Syracuse never regained the lead -- though the two teams were tied at 59-59 with just over 10 minutes to play. From there, it was all Owls, as Temple outscored Syracuse 24-20 in the game’s final 10 minutes, as the Owls handed Syracuse its first loss of the season.
Temple guard Khalif Wyatt led the Owls with 33 points -- including a perfect 15-of-15 from the free-throw line. Wyatt also added three assists and two rebounds.
Syracuse forward C.J. Fair scored 25 points for the Orange, and grabbed eight rebounds. Fair had an excellent day shooting, converting 8-of-12 field goals, and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
As a team, Syracuse shot just 19-of-34 from the free-throw line. By contrast, the Owls shot 29-of-36 from the free-throw line -- clearly one of the differences in the game.
Temple has now defeated a top 10 team for the fifth straight year with the upset victory.
Jim Boeheim's Orange will look to rebound next Saturday, when they host Alcorn State. Temple's next contest will come on Friday, when they host the Detroit Titans.
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