NCAA Tournament: No. 3 Syracuse Eases To 77-60 Win Over Indiana State

Syracuse did receive a scare late in the game as Scoop Jardine landed on his wrist awkwardly after falling down getting around a screen. Jardine stayed down and appeared to be in pain before heading to the bench. Reports indicated he was fine and was on the bench for precautionary reasons with the game well in hand.

Rick Jackson led all scorers with 23 points for Syracuse. C.J. Fair and Kris Joseph were also in double-figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Jake Kelly scored a team-high 12 points off the bench for Indiana State.

Syracuse has mostly controlled the game in this NCAA Tournament matchup with Indiana State, but the Sycamores are hanging around. The Orange led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but Indiana State rallied to cut the lead to 38-30 by halftime. It was nearly 41-30, but Kris Joseph’s buzzer-beating three was waived off.

The Orange are controlling the action inside, led by Rick Jackson. Jackson has 12 points and three rebounds in the game, and is leading the Orange to a 15-11 rebound margin. Jake Kelly leads Indiana State with 10 points off the bench.

No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Indiana State will be one of the less-viewed Second Round games in the 2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket by virtue of its channel (truTV) and tipoff time (9:57 p.m. Friday) alone. And that might be for good basketball reasons, too: the Orange may be over-seeded slightly at the No. 3 line, while Indiana State could have gotten a No. 15 seed without anyone batting an eye. But March Madness wreaks havoc on even the supposedly skippable games of the 2011 NCAA Tournament schedule, and the Orange and Sycamores could yet author a classic .

Prediction: Syracuse cruises, 82-70, as Odum’s valiant 15-point, 14-assist effort goes for naught.