NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament: Syracuse Routs Gonzaga on Way to Sweet 16

Syracuse Orange upset. That is what came to mind this morning, one day after the shocking defeat of top-seeded Kansas by Northern Iowa.

Down their veteran big man in Arinze Onuaku, many experts picked Syracuse to be the second number one seed to go down.

However, we witnessed nothing near that. Instead we saw a Syracuse team that was greatly prepared  for this game, especially with the doubt facing this team.

The final score was 85-65 in favor of Syracuse, but that does not show the dominance of the Orange in the second half.

Syracuse was led by Wes Johnson, who had a career high 31 points and 14 rebounds, and the Bulldogs had no match for the junior forward.

Guards Andy Rautins and Brandon Triche also found their luck from the three-point line, putting together an overall solid performance.

The backcourt for Syracuse also stepped up when it was needed. Rick Jackson and Kris Joesph combined for 10 points and 16 rebounds, taking on a bigger role in this game.

You may ask, what do we take out of this game? To put it in simple terms, Syracuse showed up as the Big East regular season champions, instead of the team that was eliminated in their first game of the conference tournament.

Everyone was firing on all cylinders for this experienced bunch. They had the home crowd in their favor, with Buffalo only being two hours away from the Syracuse campus.

The most scary thing of all is the fact of playing without Onuaku, who brings such an important big man presence to this game.

At times, it seemed that they were playing at a much faster pace then Syracuse is known for. The lead got as high as 30 points in the second half before Gonzaga used an emotional run to stop the bleeding.

The Orange now come up with all the confidence as they head to Utah to take on a Butler squad who avoided a near upset at the hands of Murray St.

Nothing against the Bulldogs, but the odds don't seem to be in their favor versus the Orange. In fact, I thought Gonzaga would be a tougher opponent then Butler, as they have proved they can play with the top teams in the country.

Whether Onuaku will suit up remains to be seen. To be honest, I think Syracuse can handle Butler without him. Yet he may have to see the court so he can be mentally and physically ready for the final days of the tournament.

The 'Cuse join Kentucky as the teams to beat thus far, which can't be argued. Kentucky had a dominant win of their own, winning by 30 against Wake Forest.

A good percentage picked either Kansas St or Pittsburgh to earn the trip to the Final Four.

Why? Because Syracuse does tend to slack off, especially at certain times during the season.

But instead we saw a different animal. We saw one of the more experienced teams in the country blow their opponent off of the court with a Final Four appearance on the horizon.

So in a few words, here's a message for the rest of the tourney. You may be rejoicing because Kansas is out of the bracket, but a new favorite has emerged from this tournament, in the form of the Syacuse Orange.

Matt Miselis is a writer for BleacherReport.com.