Syracuse Basketball: Men & Women Dance to Sweet 16

After a crazy four days of March Madness, both the Syracuse basketball men’s and women’s teams have advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

What a week for Syracuse basketball! On Friday, the men went out and crushed Dayton, followed by the women crushing Army. Then on Sunday, both teams won again, advancing to the Sweet 16. For the ladies, it’s their first Sweet 16 appearance in team history. For the men, it’s a return to prominence after two years absence.

Let’s talk about the women’s game first, since it happened earlier in the day. The women opened the day with a big win over Albany 76-59. As per usual, it was the stifling defense and frenetic pace of the Orange that helped them pull away from a pesky Albany team.

Syracuse was led by Brittany Sykes who had 24 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 50% from the floor. Alexis Peterson also had a very strong showing, chipping in 22 points, 6 rebounds, and a pair of 3-pointers.

Maggie Morrison helped the cause with 11 points and 3-5 shooting from deep. Briana Day had a solid 10 rebounds off the bench. It was a team effort all around as eight different players scored.

The women held a seven point halftime lead but ballooned that to 16 by the end of the third quarter. They were in complete control throughout and despite Albany’s best effort, the game was pretty much over by the start of the fourth quarter.

The Syracuse basketball men’s team also played a great game on Sunday, blowing out 15th seeded MTSU 75-70. Looking at that scoreline, you’d think they cruised in this game, and by the end they did. But for the first 25 minutes, it was actually a closely contested game, with MTSU actually leading by two points early in the second half.

Then the Orange took control with a 22-2 run, led by a suffocating defense and the brilliant play of Michael Gbinije. Silent G finished the game with 23 points, including three 3-pointers, to go along with 3 steals, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. He also shot an insane 10-14 from the field, and was a perfect 7-7 from inside the 3-point line.

Gbinije just had one of those days that players dream of, where the hoop looks more like the grand canyon. He hit fadeaways, he hit turn around jumpers, he hit layups, he made nasty dunks. It was one of his best, most efficient performances in his career. Here’s one of those monster dunks he threw down.

Aside from Gbinije, a number of Orange players stepped up. Tyler Roberson had 12 points and 9 rebounds and was absolutely fierce on both ends. He also was hitting jumpers, making all his free throws, and playing with a focus seldom seen this season.