NCAA Tournament Bracket Update: Syracuse Tops Indiana State, 77-60

Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) – Rick Jackson scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Syracuse handled Indiana State, 77-60, in an East Region second-round meeting.

C.J. Fair came off the bench and chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds, while Kris Joseph added 12 and 10 for the third-seeded Orange (27-7), who advanced to take on 11th-seeded Marquette on Sunday. Syracuse lost the only regular season meeting between the Big East rivals.

“I like to play other teams when we get to the NCAA, to tell you the truth. But it’s what it is,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said of the upcoming matchup. “We’ve got to get ready to play. Marquette’s very good. They beat us early this year at their place and they played very well.”

Jake Kelly provided 12 points for the 14th-seeded Sycamores (20-14), who couldn’t keep up with the fast-paced Orange, allowing them to shoot 52 percent from the field.

The Orange began to pull away six minutes in when Scoop Jardine nailed a three-pointer to ignite an 11-0 run, which Dion Waiters capped with a jumper for a 25-11 cushion.

Indiana State, the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champions, stayed close by hitting five three-pointers in the final 10 minutes of the half, but still trailed 38-30 at the break.

Jake Odum sparked the Sycamores coming out of the locker room in a variety of ways. His two free throws four minutes in pulled the underdogs within 42-38, but that was as close as it got.

Fair responded with a jumper and Jackson threw down a dunk off a turnover for a 51-38 advantage with 12 minutes on the clock.

The margin was cut to 10 on Aaron Carter’s layup with eight minutes left, but Kelly missed a jumper the next time down and Brandon Triche drained a back- breaking three-pointer for a 59-46 lead.

The closest Indiana State got from there was a dozen.

“I didn’t think we played particularly well, but I think that has everything to do with Syracuse and the style that they play,” Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing said. “I thought when we cut it to 42-38, we turned it over a few times and really didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

Syracuse has advanced to the Sweet 16 the previous two years…The Orange improved to 53-33 in the tourney, while Indiana State fell to 5-4 in four all- time appearances…Dwayne Lathan, Indiana State’s only double-digit scorer during the season with 11.0 ppg, scored seven points in the loss…Jardine had nine points and nine assists. He appeared to injure his wrist late in the game but said in the post-game press conference that he was “fine”.

Syracuse Vs. Indiana State, Or Fab Melo Vs. Scoop Jardine

On Friday, the No. 3-seeded Syracuse Orange will play No. 14 Indiana St. Sycamores in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament . During the contest (9:57 p.m. on truTV) the Orange will feature some recognizable names like Rick Jackson, the Big East Conference Defensive Player Of The Year, and Kris Joseph, the 2010 Big East Sixth Man Of The Year.

Well, SU freshman center Fab Melo and junior guard Scoop Jardine may join Jackson and Joseph on the recognition list, but it won't be because of their play. Over at ESPN Sports Nation fans are voting on the Coolest Name In The NCAA Tournament, and Melo (a No. 1 seed) and Scoop (No. 3) are among the candidates . Round one results featured Melo demolishing Butler's Chrishawn Hopkins, 92.1 percent to 7.9 percent, while Jardine routed Duke's Mason Plumlee, 90.5-9.5. Currently, the voting is in the second round, which will continue until Monday at 10 p.m.

That NCAA bracket got me thinking: What are some other notable Syracuse basketball names? Here they are courtesy of Orangehoops.org:

J.B. Reafsnyder (1992-'96): 5.5 point per game for the 1996 Syracuse squad that lost the National Title game to Kentucky Wildcats, 76-67.

Kueth Duany ('99-'03): averaged 8.7 ppg during four-year career, member of 2003 National Championship team.

Kristof Ongenaet ('07-'09): 3.7 ppg, 4.6 rebound per game, played 20 minutes in six-overtime game against UConn in '09.

Arinze Onuaku ('05-'10): Finished his career with SU's best field goal percentage (64.8) and worst free-throw percentage (39.5).

George Papadakos ('83-'85): Transferred to Michigan State after quitting during '85 season.

Louie McCroskey ('03-'06): Transferred to Marist College after 2006 season.

Herman Harried ('84-'89): Averaged 2.1 ppg for '87 team that lost to Indiana in the National Title game, 74-73.

Dwayne 'Pearl' Washington ('83-'86): 15.6 ppg, 6.7 assists per game and All-Big East First Team for three straight years.

Dale Shackleford ('75-'79): Four-year starter, who averaged 12.8 ppg and 7.3 rpg.

Roosevelt Bouie ('76-'80): Four-year starter, who averaged 13.2 ppg and 8.4 rpg. Earned All-American honors in '80.

-- Want more Big East Conference coverage? Check out the SB Nation New York's special NCAA Tournament page, which will bring you live updates throughout Friday's contests. If you'd like a national scope, check out SB Nation's NCAA Tournament page.

Syracuse Basketball: NCAA Tournament First-Round Memory

The Syracuse basketball program will play its 76th NCAA Tournament game Friday night against the No. 14-seeded Indiana St. Sycamores in a second-round contest at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. The winner will advance to the third round and play either No. 11 Marquette Golden Eagles or No. 6 Xavier Musketeers on Sunday.

On Friday, the Orange (26-7) will be officially playing a second-round game, even though, this will be their first game in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Before the NCAA expanded the field to 68 teams, SU had some first-round moments that are nice to remember. Here is a recent first-round memory that might get you pumped for tonight's game:

2004 NCAA Tournament vs. BYU - Gerry McNamara Scores 43 Points

GMac goes off for 43 vs BYU 2004 NCAA tournament first round (via senorpalmer)

Of course, McNamara is now apart of Jim Boeheim's coaching staff. Hopefully, some of his first-round magic can wear off on one of the Orange players tonight.

Also on Friday night, CBS college basketball announcer Gus Johnson will be calling the action. Love him or hate him (I really enjoy him) here are some of Gus' best NCAA Tournament calls:

Gus Johnson's Best NCAA Calls (via lawhon119)

Syracuse Basketball Vs. Indiana State Preview: Orange Aim For Third Sweet 16 Apperance

The Syracuse basketball program will appear in its fifth NCAA Tournament game in three years Friday night as the No. 3-seeded Orange play No. 14 Indiana St. Sycamores in a second-round contest at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. The winner will advance to the third round and play either No. 11 Marquette Golden Eagles or No. 6 Xavier Musketeers on Sunday.

The matchup features two historic college basketball programs which have never faced each other. Though SU's postseason history is more lucrative (33 tournament appearances and four Final Fours) than the Sycamores (three appearances to one Final Four) the contest should still have  an old-school feel.

Despite scoring just 66.5 points per game, Indiana State (20-13) earned the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament automatic bid by defeating the Missouri State Bears, 60-56, on March 6. Senior Aaron Carter netted a game-best 15 points for the Sycamores, who won despite having their leading scorer, Dwayne Lathan (11.0 ppg), tally just four points.

Lathan, a 6-foot-3 guard, shoots 41.3 percent from the floor, while Carter is Indiana State's fourth-best scorer (8.7 ppg), but its only consistent 3-point threat (34.8 percent on 141 attempts). Carl Richard, a 6-5 guaurd-forward, is Indiana State's second-best scorer (9.8 ppg) and top rebounder (6.6 rpg). Freshman guard Jake Odum (9.4 ppg) also contributes.

For Syracuse, which is playing maybe its best basketball of the season, its looking for its third straight trip to the round of 16. Last season, the Orange earned a No. 1 seed, advance to the Sweet 16 where they lost to Final Four member Butler, who lost in the National Championship game to Duke.

The Orange (26-7) have won six of their last seven games, which included road victories over Georgetown Hoyas and Villanova Wildcats, who are both NCAA Tournament teams. SU was on a six-game winning streak until the Connecticut Huskies downed the Orange, 76-71, in overtime of the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.

Syracuse is led by senior forward Rick Jackson, who is averaging 13.0 ppg and 10.6 rpg. The 6-9 big-man has easily been SU's most consent player all season. The same cannot be said for junior point guard Scoop Jardine (12.8 ppg and 5.8 assists per game), who at times plays brilliantly but other times creates a lot of headaches (2.8 turnovers per game).

The other two SU weapons are sophomore guard Brandon Triche (11.3 ppg) and junior forward Kris Joseph (14.4 ppg), who leads the team in scoring.

Overall, the Orange are limiting opponents to 63.3 ppg on 39.3 percent shooting from the field. They are generating 73.6 ppg at the offensive end and are pulling down 3.6 rpg more than the opposition. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim is aiming to lead the Orange to their fourth Final Four in as many decades.

-- Want more Big East Conference coverage? Check out the SB Nation New York's special NCAA Tournament page, which will bring you live updates throughout Friday's contests. If you'd like a national scope, check out SB Nation's NCAA Tournament page.