BUFFALO, N.Y. — Wes Johnson scored a career- high 31 points and pulled down 14 rebounds and Andy Rautins added 24 points Sunday as Syracuse hit a dozen 3-pointers in an 87-65 victory over Gonzaga.
Gonzaga (27-7) was trying to become the second team from the West Coast Conference to shock the Big East — WCC tournament champ Saint Mary’s stunned second-seeded Villanova on Saturday — but it was no match for the Orange.
Syracuse (30-4), which made the round of 16 for the second straight year, again played without 6-foot-9, 260-pound senior center Arinze Onuaku, who’s recovering from a knee injury. Even without Onuaku, the Orange stifled Vermont in the first round, holding the Catamounts to 5-of-22 on 3-pointers, and continued its surge against Gonzaga.
The Zags made just 3-of-21 from beyond the arc and shot 41.7 percent for the game, well below their season average of nearly 50 percent.
Xavier 71, Pittsburgh 68
MILWAUKEE — Jordan Crawford scored 27 points, including a breakaway dunk with just over two minutes remaining, for the Musketeers (26-8).
Jason Love had 14 points and a key block down the stretch for Xavier, which joined Michigan State as the only schools to reach the round of 16 the last three years.
Ashton Gibbs led Pitt with 19 points.
The Associated Press
