CHICAGO — Top-seeded Virginia (29-8, 13-5 Atlantic Coast) looked the part of a No. 1 in the first half, but the Cavaliers collapsed in the second and Syracuse (23-13, 9-9) escaped with a 68-62 victory on the heels of Malachi Richardson’s 23 points and a 15-0 run to advance to the Final Four.

Here are three quick reactions from a comeback for the ages.

Freshman sensation

To describe Richardson in the second half, you’d probably need a word not in the dictionary. He scored just two point in the first half. Two. Erratic drives and missed layups. Complaining to the referees.

He’s been good in second halves after poor first halves this season, but nothing like this. Nothing even close. He had 21 points in the second half and put the Orange on his back with cold-blooded 3-pointers and dives over the scorer’s table to save Syracuse possessions.

The freshman tied a career-high with 23 points and led a charge back from 16 points down to solidify the Orange as one of college basketball’s Final Four teams.

London bridge

Virginia point guard London Perrantes entered Sunday’s game shooting 48 percent from the field, but two early misses provided some hope for Syracuse to catch a break from falling victim to his efficiency from behind the arc.

But the top of the key was Perrantes’ real estate for the rest of the first half, as he knocked down five 3-pointers — four from straight on while he was wide open — in the first 20 minutes to open up a 14-point UVA lead at the break.

He hit one more from the same spot in the second half, but played no factor in holding off Syracuse’s comeback while finishing with only three second half-points.

Moving the rock

On Saturday, Perrantes said Virginia would put Malcolm Brogdon at the foul line to attack Syracuse’s zone, but it was Isaiah Wilkins who operated from the stripe in the first half. He was often the starting point of an eventual Perrantes 3, and Virginia then zipped the ball around the perimeter before either an open shot or a feed back to Wilkins before a bounce pass dumped to Anthony Gill down low.

In the second half, Brogdon was put at the charity stripe and drew two defenders almost every time he received the ball. That opened up more shots from outside, a kick out for a Darius Thompson 3-pointer and dumps down low and for a Mike Tobey two-handed flush. Virginia’s rapid ball movement through the crevices of the zone picked apart SU’s defense.

When SU pressed with less than 10 minutes to go in the game, it disrupted Virginia’s methodical pace, and the Orange was able to cut its deficit by chunks. Then Syracuse took a lead, and never looked back.

Published on March 27, 2016 at 7:11 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman