The Syracuse Orange weren't expected to be a force in the 2012 NCAA Tournament when the school announced that center Fab Melo had been suspended just before the Big Dance. The Orange are missing Melo, but have shown plenty of confidence on the way to a six-point halftime lead over the Wisconsin Badgers in the Sweet 16.
Brandon Triche and Dion Waiters lead the Orange with nine points apiece in the first half -- the latter off the bench -- to help their team to a 33-27 lead, but the game didn't start out so great for Syracuse. After the first four minutes, Syracuse didn't lead again until less than nine minutes remaining, but then began to pour it on, going on an 11-0 run once they got hot to take the lead into halftime.
Wisconsin center Jared Berggren scored 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers, to lead the Badgers. Foul trouble came into play, however, as both he and fellow starting frontcourt man Mike Brusewitz entered the intermission with a pair of fouls.
For more on the Orange, be sure to visit Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician. The best Badgers blog on the internet can be found at Bucky's 5th Quarter.