March Madness on Sling TV: The Elite 8
#10 Syracuse Orangemen (22-13) vs. #1 Virginia Cavaliers (29-7) (6:09pm ET, TBS)
Trailing by one with 23 seconds to play, the Syracuse Orangemen’s Michael Gbinije retrieved the block of his own layup, making good on his second chance to give Syracuse its first lead in nearly 10 minutes on their way to a 63-60 victory over Gonzaga. Gbinije led the Orangemen in scoring 20 (albeit on eight-of-23 shooting), adding four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
Virginia went into halftime against the Iowa State Cyclones with a 14 point lead and never looked back, despite a 30-point night from ISU’s Georges Niang by dominating the boards (33-24) and shooting 56% from the floor. The Cavs’ Anthony Gill led the team in scoring with 23 points on eight-of-10 shooting while senior Mike Tobey came off the bench to kick in 18 points and seven rebounds in just 20 minutes.
Virginia beat Syracuse 73-65 back in January behind a 21-point effort from Malcolm Brogdon on a night when the Cavs hit 57% of their shots and the Orangemen made just 39%.
#6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (24-11) vs. #North Carolina Tar Heels (31-6) (8:49pm ET, TBS)
With his team down three and just 19 seconds to play, Notre Dame’s Demetrius Jackson took over to make a layup, a steal, another layup, another steal and two free throws over the next 16 seconds of play to ice a 61-56 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. Jackson finished the night with 16 points, three rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
The Tar Heels got at least 14 points from each of their starting five with Marcus Paige’s 21 points leading the way as UNC beat Indiana 101-86 in a game that wasn’t even that close. An 11-point Heels halftime lead ballooned to as much as 21 midway through the second half with the Hoosiers never getting closer than the final score.
The Heels lost to the Irish on the road 80-76 back in February on a night when ND made just 35% of their shots from the floor, but made 31 of 38 free throws, swiped 10 steals and committed just two turnovers. A month later, however, the Heels destroyed the Irish 78-47 as ND made just 15 of 50 field goal attempts and committed 17 turnovers.
All stats courtesy ESPN and Basketball Reference.