Orange put squeeze on No. 16 Catamounts

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Five years ago, Vermont shocked Syracuse in overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Catamounts never had a chance to duplicate that amazing moment.

Wes Johnson had 18 points to lead five Syracuse players in double figures, and the top-seeded Orange beat Vermont 79-56 on Friday night in the first round of NCAA tournament.

The Syracuse zone defense clamped down at the outset and allowed few openings, and the Orange rolled up a 20-2 run to take command early.

“Going to practice, that was our emphasis, to focus on the defensive end, get out and play defense like we did at the beginning of the year,” Johnson said. “I think the whole week of practice that we had to prepare for this game it helped us go into this game to step up on defense.”

Syracuse’s overwhelming start had 16th-seeded Vermont trailing by as many as 25 points late in the first half. And after the Catamounts closed the half with a 15-2 run, Andy Rautins and freshman Brandon Triche started the second by hitting two 3s apiece in the first 4 minutes to erase any doubt about the outcome.

“We haven’t had slow starts this year very often,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim said after his 43rd NCAA triumph, eighth all time. “We’ve been pretty good. Our defense was better at the beginning. That was the big key.”

Syracuse shot 54.5 percent for the game and hit 10 of 22 from beyond the arc while holding Vermont to 34.8 percent for the game and 5 of 22 on 3-pointers.

Syracuse (29-4) played without injured center Arinze Onuaku, who hurt his right knee in the Big East tournament. The status of the man in the middle of the back of the 2-3 zone is up in the air for the second-round game against Gonzaga.