Marquette, Syracuse Highlight Eastern Region Wins on Saturday
There weren’t too many East Region games on Saturday, but both of the matches that took place were nail biters. Both of the game’s winners, Syracuse and Marquette, are beginning to look like two teams that could absolutely emerge from the region as a legitimate Final Four contender. Let’s take an in-depth look at the two games.
No. 3 Marquette Defeats No. 6 Butler 74-72
It was yet another close game for these two rivals and soon-to-be conference mates. Yet again, it was Marquette’s Vander Blue who came up big, scoring 19 second half points and 29 points overall to narrowly propel his team past Butler.
“I know everybody in our team, we weren’t ready to go home,” said Blue. “We had two close games — we had a lot of those this year. What we went through earlier this year prepared us for this weekend… There were multiple times we could have gave up, but there’s something about this group. We’re relentless and we want to win. We’re not ready to go home yet.”
It was another classic match between these two stylistically similar teams, and their rivalry should be redoubled next season when Butler joins the Big East. Marquette were narrow 1.5-point favorites in this one, so they ultimately covered the spread. Howwever, the outcome of the match was in doubt even in the waning seconds. Butler hit a game-winning three-pointer against the Golden Eagles earlier this season at the Maui Invitational, but they couldn’t find the same spark again. A last second desperation heave from Butler clanged off the backboard, and the game was over.
“The difference in the game was the level of pressure they put on us in the second half and certainly the shots they made,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “They had a few I didn’t think were going in that bounced in. Our guys gave great effort on both ends of the floor. Our guys played their hearts out. I told them they had nothing to be ashamed about.”
No. 4 Syracuse Defeat No. 12 California 66-60
This was one of the ugliest games you’re ever likely to see from a winning team. The Syracuse Orange missed 15 free throws, made only six baskets in the second half, and went on an epic 12-minute field goal drought at one point. Syracuse was 7.5-point favorites, and while they didn’t cover the spread (and played about as badly as a team of their caliber can), they ultimately emerged with a victory. It was the Orange’s vaunted zone defense that got the job done at the end of the day. Syracuse held Cal to 39.3 percent from the field, though that wasn’t even the real reason the Orange won; Syracuse, after all, shot only 39.1 percent from the field. What cost Cal the upset was simple: they shot four for 21 on three-point attempts. There simply weren’t enough buckets falling for the Golden Bears to swing the upset.
“The zone accomplished what it wanted to,” coach Mike Montgomery said. “I was fearful that was going to happen. I knew where the strengths of the zone and what the weaknesses were. I wasn’t sure we had the personnel in a day to get done what we needed to get done.”
Here were some other betting trends for these teams, courtesy of OddsShark.com:
A few Golden Bears at Orange trends to consider:
Syracuse is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
