Syracuse smothers Marquette

By HOWARD FENDRICH

Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Jim Boeheim calls this year's Syracuse team his best defensive group ever. Hard to argue, based on the suffocating performances that put the Orange in the Final Four.

Using its trapping, shot-challenging 2-3 zone to perfect effect for 40 minutes, No. 4-seeded Syracuse shut down No. 3 Marquette 55-39 in the East Regional final Saturday to earn Boeheim his first trip to the national semis since a freshman named Carmelo Anthony helped win the 2003 NCAA title.

"It's a great thing," Boeheim joked afterward. "We go once every 10 years."

Fittingly, a matchup between schools from the soon-to-break-apart, rough-and-tumble Big East became quite a struggle on the offensive end.

Syracuse (30-9) was led by senior forward James Southerland's 16 points.

Marquette (26-9) hadn't scored fewer than 47 points all season -- and, indeed, put up 74 in a victory over Syracuse on Feb. 25.

But this time, Marquette kept turning the ball over, seeing its shots blocked or just plain missing.

"They beat us from start to finish. We collectively tried everything we knew to try," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. "It is the zone, and it is the players in the zone."

Much like what happened Thursday in the regional semifinals, when Syracuse knocked off top-seeded Indiana by limiting the Hoosiers to a season-low output.

"I don't think we've played as good defensively as these last two games," senior guard Brandon Triche said. "We held some good teams down."

Vander Blue, who carried Marquette to the round of eight, was held to 14 points on 3-for-15 shooting.

The Golden Eagles' 39 points were a record low for a team in an NCAA tournament regional final since the shot clock was introduced in 1986.

"They cover ground really good. You've got to get the ball in the middle, you've got to play inside out, you've got to get to the free throw line and wear them down with the 3-pointer when you can," Blue said. "They're really good at what they do in that zone."

In the national semifinals at Atlanta next week, Syracuse will face the winner of Sunday's South Regional title game between Florida and Michigan.

Last season, Syracuse fell a victory short of the Final Four, losing to Ohio State in the round of eight.

The Big East is transforming radically before next season.

Syracuse is heading to the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Marquette is one of seven basketball-centric schools departing the conference to form a new league that is taking the Big East conference name with it.

But talk about a last hurrah.