Syracuse holds off Badgers

BOSTON (AP) — Top-seeded Syracuse used a breakout game by the slumping C.J. Fair to advance to the East Regional final.

Wisconsin missed two potential winning shots in the final seconds, and the Orange hung on for the 64-63 win Thursday night to reach the round of eight for the first time since 2003, when they won their only national championship.

Fair, who had scored a total of 20 points in his last six games, finished with 15 on 7-for-9 shooting.

Kris Joseph, a 75 percent free throw shooter, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 18 seconds to go with Syracuse up by a point, giving the Badgers a chance at the victory.

Passing the ball around the perimeter of the zone but creating much space, Jordan Taylor let go a 3 with 3 seconds left. It bounced off the rim and Josh Gasser’s shot at the buzzer was off.

Syracuse (34-2) plays Ohio State or Cincinnati in the regional final Saturday.

A matchup of two very different styles of defense, the game came down to a final possession for the Badgers (26-10), who finished 14 of 27 from 3-point range but couldn’t make one over the final 6 minutes.

Scoop Jardine had 14 points for Syracuse, while Dion Waiters had 13 and Brandon Triche 11.

Jared Berggren and Taylor both had 17 points for Wisconsin, which led Division I this season by allowing 52.9 points per game.

Tags: college sports, sports, basketball