Syracuse rolls; Shockers to face OSU

Published 1:20 am Friday, March 29, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — With its 2-3 zone defense disruptive from start to finish, and Michael Carter-Williams pouring in 24 points, fourth-seeded Syracuse upset No. 1 seed Indiana 61-50 Thursday night to reach the NCAA tournament’s East Regional final.

Syracuse limited Indiana to its lowest point total of the season, forced 19 turnovers, compiled 10 blocks and held the normally efficient Hoosiers to 33 percent shooting.

After getting past preseason No. 1 Indiana, Syracuse (29-9) will face No. 3 seed Marquette on Saturday night in an all-Big East matchup for a berth in the Final Four. Coach Jim Boeheim and the Orange haven’t been to the national semifinals since Carmelo Anthony led them to the 2003 title.

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Wichita St. 72, La Salle 58

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wichita State went from sweet to elite, beating La Salle 72-58 on Thursday night to reach the final eight of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 32 years.

Malcolm Armstead scored 18 points, Carl Hall added 16 points and freshman Ron Baker 13 for the ninth-seeded Shockers, who proved their upset of No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the third round was no fluke. They never trailed in this matchup of small schools whose past NCAA tourney success was long buried in the history books.

The Shockers advanced to Saturday’s West Regional final against No. 2 seed Ohio State.

Marquette 71, Miami 61

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jamil Wilson scored 16 points, Vander Blue and Davante Gardner had 14 apiece, and Marquette advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003 with a 71-61 win over Miami on Thursday night.

The third-seeded Golden Eagles shot 54 percent from the field and held the Hurricanes to 35 percent. Miami missed 18 of 26 3-point attempts.

Marquette (26-8) will face No. 4 Syracuse on Saturday.

Shane Larkin scored 14 points for the second-seeded Hurricanes (29-7), who matched the best NCAA run in school history.