Syracuse Upsets Virginia to Continue Run to Final Four

No. 10 seed Syracuse rallied from a 16 point deficit to upset No. 1 seed Virginia last night and become the first ever No. 10 seed to make it to the Final Four. The Orange are just the fourth double-digit seed and the lowest seed to make it since No. 11 VCU  in 2011. Cuse has now reached the Final Four six times and this is the first time since 2013.

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Freshman Guard Malachi Richardson lead Syracuse with 23 points and 14 of them came in the last nine minutes of the game. Michael Gbinije and Tyler Lydon added 11 points and Tyler Roberson had 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Virginia pulled ahead in the first half after London Perrantes scored 15 of his 18 points. ACC player of the Malcolm Brogdon added 12 points in his final game of his college career. But that wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers, who blew a 16 point lead in the second half. Brogdon says he thinks they didn’t look for their shot in the zone enough and they were not being as aggressive on the outside as they should have been.

In the second half Syracuse cut the lead by taking advantage of UVA turnovers. Richardson took over and at 5:37 his driving layup put the Orange up 59-58.  After a 25-4 run in the second half, the Orange sealed their spot in the Final Four beating the Cavaliers 68-62. Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim says they kept making plays one they got the lead and he is so proud of his team.

Up Next, Syracuse will take on UNC April 2 in Houston at 8:49 p.m. Cuse has lost to UNC in both of their previous match-ups this season.