Robert Sacre, a North Vancouver, B.C. native, and 7 foot centre for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, might have grown up admiring Reggie Miller. Evidently, he emulated the trash talking element of the all time great Pacer, more than his big game instincts. Prior to the dismantling and manhandling of Sacre and his Bulldog teammates by the West Region top seeded Syracuse Orange, at HSBC arena in Buffalo, Sacre, according to ESPN, was overheard prior to the game as saying that Syracuse was “soft” and a bunch of “pretty boys”. According to the scoreboard and the way the game played out, the only softness was with Gonzaga, judging by their 87-65 loss to the “pretty boys” of S.U. Evidently, Sacre is unaware of his own team’s history in the tournament, with Gonzaga having failed to make it to the sweet 16 in seven of its last nine NCAA tournament appearances.
The 30-4 Orange are headed to Salt Lake City, to continue their tournament run, as part of the sweet sixteen of March Madness. Sacre and the Bulldogs can start booking their tee times for golf tournaments. The Orange have a date next Thursday with the Indianapolis based Butler Bulldogs, the 5th seed in the western region, also sporting a 30-4 record this season. The 22 point margin of victory was the third largest by Syracuse in the tournament since 1990. The lead at one point got as high as thirty points. Impressively, the Orange achieved their 2 tournament wins, so far in March Madness, without 6 foot-nine 260 pound centre Arinze Anuaku. Syracuse were led by Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson,the Wooden award nominee, who had 31 points and 14 rebounds. Johnson’s 31 points were a career high for him and, the first time an Orange player put up 30 plus points in an NCAA tournament game, since Gerry McNamara scored 43 against B.Y.U. in 2004. The Zags made just 3 of 21 from behind the arc. Syracuse has two Canadians on their roster. Guard Andy Rautins, who is also a member of Team Canada for international hoops, hit 7 of 13 shots for 24 points. He hit three 3’s , in the first three minutes of the second half, to extend their lead to 24 points, after having lead by 15 at the half. Montreal native Kris Joseph, had 5 points, 7 rebounds,and 3 assists. Aside from his foolish pre-game trash talking, Robert Sacre had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and two blocks, for the Bulldogs. His team dropped to 0-5 against top seeds in the NCAA tournament, all time.
Hall Of Fame coach Jim Boeheim notched career win 829. He is not known for being boastful about himself or his team. On this occasion, Boeheim bent his own rules somewhat, in his post game comments. The former Syracuse guard, who played in the same Orange backcourt with Hall Of Famer Dave Bing, said: “This team has come to play every game. I’ve never had a team that’s come to play every game.” Gonzaga coach Mark Few commented on his opponents after the game. “When they shoot the ball like that, they’re hard to handle. They’re an impressive group.”