No Contest in Buffalo

Western Michigan, the MAC Champs, ran up against a buzzsaw in Syracuse today and got blown out.  The Orange led 12-4 with 13 left in the first half, by 12 with 7 minutes left and then 20 with 3 minutes left on the way to a 77-53 final.  Western shot 35% in the defeat and 22% from beyond the arc...clearly struggling with a very difficult zone defense.  Meanwhile, Syracuse has had trouble scoring but hit 49% and 41% on their way to the easy victory.

That's the same Bronco team that hung 98 on UT.

At least we got to set an non-UCLA NCAA-record for John Wooden references.

Two MAC teams left.

The final score was an improvement over a illness-plagued Akron team's 46 point defeat to VCU last year.  The MAC has been one and done 9 out of the last 11 tourneys.