(Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
Jim Boeheim recorded career win No. 799, 42 in the NCAA tournament, as Syracuse dominated Arizona State to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in five years.
The Orange trailed for only 34 seconds the entire game. From 18:19-17:45 of the first half Arizona State led 5-4. After the Orange pulled ahead 7-5, they never looked back.
The Sun Devils pulled within four points, 61-57, with 6:38 remaining in the game, but with the Syracuse season on the verge of slipping away, Johnny Flynn found Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf for a series of threes that saved the Orange’s season.
Arizona State began to focus solely on Flynn, who scored only 11 points on the day, and the Orange guard exploited the Sun Devils perfectly.
"All three of us were just patient and we took what was open," Devendorf said. "When we do that, good things happen."
Good things have been happening for the Orange since the Big East Tournament.
After dismissing UConn in a six-overtime epic, the Orange ran all the way to the Big East Tourney Finals where they fell to Louisville.
The Orange received a No. 3 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tourney, and have been playing like a team destined for the Final Four.
Devendorf had a game high 21 points and hit two clutch three-pointers less than a minute apart to help close out the Sun Devils in the waning moments of the second half.
Andy Rautins contributed 17 points, as five Syracuse players recorded double figures. The Orange shot 55.3 percent (26-47) from the field, and 45 percent (9-20) from beyond the three-point arc. Syracuse also hit 17-21 free throws.
Syracuse out-rebounded the Sun Devils 30-23, and played suffocating defense for most of the afternoon.
"They did a great job of covering a lot of ground," Arizona State point guard Derek Glasser said. "It doesn't seem like they're there, and then all of a sudden they've got two guys there. You know, they do a phenomenal job of guarding the paint and covering a lot of ground."
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