Buddy Boeheim continued shooting, taking his father into the Hall of Fame and Syracuse with the 11th division back to Sweet 16.
Orange, an important program for four decades under Jim Boeheim, has once again shown that they are as dangerous as an NCAA tournament.
“Winning two games and being doubted in both, the underdog, that means everything,” said Buddy Boeheim. “If you asked me a month or two ago where I think we would be, I don’t think I would say Sweet 16, for sure.”
“Buckets” Boeheim scored 22 of his 25 points after the break to lead Orange in West Virginia’s 75-72 loss on Sunday. Syracuse (18-9) advanced to face Houston in second place in a midwestern regional semifinal.
Orange was a bubble team this year, a familiar spot lately. They won their last two games of the regular season and once at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament to take the field.
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Now they are heading for Jim Boeheim’s 20th birthday, thanks to his six-foot-five-year-old son and sweet sniper.
“I mean, he’s playing really well,” said Jim. “He’s putting the ball on the ground and making his own shot. The teammates are looking for him.
“He looked really good today. He did 6 out of 13 (out of 3 points). I’m surprised he doesn’t have 10 out of 13, actually, the way he’s shooting. And I know he was disappointed with himself in the but he showed what it is made of. “
Orange moved on at the expense of another coach legend, Bob Huggins, at the second March Madness meeting between coaches with at least 900 wins in the First Division. Huggins won No. 900 when West Virginia won Morehead State in the first round on Friday. Boeheim got his 982nd at Huggins’ expense.
Buddy Boeheim had two consecutive 3s just after the break. His jump and 3 in consecutive possession put Syracuse ahead 63-59 with 4:55 remaining, and he helped put the game off with three late free throws.
After his first quiet half, Boeheim received a stimulating conversation from former Orange sniper Gerry McNamara, who won the 2003 national championship as a wing of Carmelo Anthony and is now one of Jim Boeheim’s assistants.
“G-Mac came up to me at the break and said, ‘Keep going. I don’t care if you lose 200. Keep shooting,'” said Boeheim. “I just said, okay, if I get a clean look, I have to get them and I’m going to start doing them.”
Sean McNeil scored 23 points to lead the Mountaineers (19-10), who reached Sweet 16 in 2018. This was the fifth time that West Virginia had gone so far under Huggins, that he also made the regional semifinals four times with Cincinnati.
WVU lost 74-72 with 4 seconds remaining before Boeheim was fouled in the middle of the court on a pass on the pitch. He made a free throw and missed the second, but Miles McBride traveled after catching the rebound.
The Mountaineers dug a hole early and quickly regained the lead in the second half. But Boeheim continued to respond with big shots.
“They shot really well,” said Huggins. “It looked like everything they shot came in, and they shot from a distance. We wanted to make them jump and we let them shoot a lot in passing.”
Joe Girard scored all 12 points before the break, securing Orange while Boeheim fought. Quincy Guerrier and Marek Dolezaj also scored 12 each for Syracuse.
BIG PICTURE
Syracuse: Orange is the bubble team that nobody wants to play. They advanced to Sweet 16 each time they received double-digit seeding, reaching Final Four as 10 in 2016 and Sweet 16 as 11 in 2018. This most recent race ended when Jim Boeheim’s group lost to Duke and Mike Krzyzewski, the only previous tournament game between coaches with 900 wins. Syracuse lost in the first round two years ago, when Buddy Boeheim was a first-year player.
West Virginia: Like many opponents of Syracuse, the Mountaineers fought against zone 2-3 with bad shots (37.1%) and turnovers (14). They regrouped, but were unable to overcome the obstacle.
LARGE NUMBERS
Buddy Boeheim has 55 points so far in the tournament. Only Gary Clark (60 in 1957) and McNamara (56 in 2004) scored more in the first two games of the Syracuse tournament.