ST. LOUIS — When Syracuse was selected to the NCAA Tournament bracket on Sunday, there were echoes throughout the country that the Orange didn’t deserve an at-large bid.

But that conversation was mostly likely deadened Friday, when 10th-seeded SU (20-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) beat seventh-seeded Dayton (25-8, 14-4 Atlantic Coast) 70-51 at the Scottrade Center. The win advanced Syracuse to the Round of 32, where it will play the winner of second-seeded Michigan State and 15th-seeded Middle Tennessee State on Sunday.

Here are three quick thoughts on the Orange’s season-extending win.

1. Tightening up

Dayton’s offense wasn’t perfect in the first half, but Scoochie Smith hit three top-of-the-key 3s to keep the Flyers within two points at halftime.

But then the Orange zone took away that spot, and tightened up all over, to handcuff Dayton in the second. The Flyers scored just five points and two made field goals through the first 11:03 out of the break, which helped SU build a 20-point lead with just under 9 minutes left.

The Flyers tried to work the ball to 6-foot-11 center Steve McElvene — who had one of those two field goals in that stretch — but Tyler Lydon and the wings of the zone controlled the paint while Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney flew around the perimeter defending 3s.

Flashy offensive plays highlighted the second half, including long 3s from Cooney, Gbinije and Malachi Richardson, and a savvy three-point play from Richardson to punctuate a backbreaking run. But it was the SU defense that held Dayton own while the deficit grew and the Orange pulled away.

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• Gallery: Syracuse beats Dayton in Round of 64 NCAA Tournament matchup
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• Syracuse community reacts to NCAA Tournament win over Dayton

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2. Attention taker

Dayton plays an uptight man-to-man defense, and it’s small lineup allows it to switch on all screens and dribble handoffs. That made it hard for SU’s perimeter scorers, like Gbinije and Cooney, to find space off on- off-ball screens. But the Orange did have an antidote to the Flyers’ relentless pressure: Richardson.

The freshman finished with 21 points.

In the first half of his first-ever NCAA Tournament game, Richardson sparked Syracuse’s offense with back-to-back 3s after the team got off to a snail-like start. The freshman winger led all scorers with 10 first-half points. He also guarded the short corner well from his spot in the zone, and chipped in four rebounds and two assists in the first 20 minutes.

Similar play from Richardson — creating open 3s and attacking closing-out defenders off the dribble — greatly helped the Orange build a 20-point lead in the first 12 minutes of the second. And when SU got to that point, Richardson knifed inside and drew a foul as his layup attempt slowly bounced on the rim.

While it trickled in, he stood in the paint and screamed “And one!” as his teammates crowded around him. After a timeout his free throw made it a 23-point lead, which he had his fingerprints all over. By the time he fouled out with 1:57 left, Richardson had already left his mark on the game.

3. Dirty work

Syracuse started the game 2-for-9 from the field, and both the makes were from forward Tyler Roberson.

With Flyers head coach Archie Miller favoring a starting lineup with no player taller than 6-foot-6, Roberson took advantage on both the offensive and defensive glass and finished the first half with six points and a game-high nine rebounds. The next highest first-half rebounding total, for either team, was five for McElvene.

But by the end of the game, Roberson had done more than help control McElvene inside and lift the Orange out of a slow start. He completely controlled the board on both ends and finished with 10 points and 18 rebounds, a performance SU both fed off and needed.

Published on March 18, 2016 at 1:17 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse