March 28--Cinderella usually doesn't wear this shade of orange, but Syracuse is back in the Final Four.
Freshman Malachi Richardson led the 10th-seeded Orange on a furious run late in the second half, as Syracuse came back and stunned top-seeded Virginia, 68-62, Sunday in the Midwest Region final at United Center.
Richardson scored 21 of his 23 points after halftime. Syracuse trailed 54-39 with 9 minutes, 32 second remaining but outscored the Cavaliers 15-0 over a span of little more than 4 minutes to become just the fourth double-digit seed to ever make the Final Four.
The Orange's vaunted 2-3 zone held Virginia to 10-of-28 shooting (35.7) percent in the second half. It outweighed the Cavaliers' first-half onslaught, during which guard London Perrantes made five 3-pointers to seemingly put Virginia in control.
Beating Virginia added a ton of credibility to Syracuse's tournament run. After getting off the bubble and into the field, they beat 7th-seeded Dayton, 15th-seeeded Middle Tennessee State and 11th-seeded Gonzaga. It's coach Jim Boeheim's fifth Final Four.
