Marquette, Syracuse Advance In East Region, Will Face In Elite Eight Saturday

The NCAA tournament resumed Thursday evening at Verizon Center with two marquee matchups from the East Region: No. 2 Miami v. No. 3 Marquette and No. 1 Indiana v. No. 4 Syracuse.

For those who couldn't make it downtown, here's a quick rundown of both games.

Marquette 71, Miami 61

When Jim Larranaga last made an NCAA tournament appearance at Verizon Center, he led the George Mason Patriots to an improbable Final Four berth in 2006. Chinatown, however, did not treat his Miami Hurricanes very well.

The Golden Eagles were never really threatened in this game, jumping out to an early double-digit lead and never looking back in a 71-61 victory. The final score is not indicative of the game itself; Marquette led by as many as 22 in the second half before Miami managed to tighten things up.

Jamil Wilson led the Golden Eagles with 16 points. With the win, Marquette advanced to their first Elite Eight since 2003, where they will face...

Syracuse 61, Indiana 50

In their first meeting since the 1987 national championship game, the Orange frustrated the Hoosiers with their patented 2-3 zone, forcing 19 turnovers and holding them to a season-low 50 points in a 61-50 win.

Michael Carter-Williams led all scorers with 24 points, while Hoosiers guard and local product Victor Oladipo added 15 of his own.

Indiana was actually President Obama's pick to win the national championship, but perhaps that's turning into some sort of curse; since 2008, only one of Obama's predicted champions -- North Carolina in 2009 -- has actually won the title.

Saturday at 4:30 p.m., Marquette and Syracuse will meet at Verizon Center in an all-Big East matchup with a trip to Atlanta and the Final Four at stake. The Golden Eagles defeated the Orange 74-71 Feb. 25.


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