March Madness Day 7, Part 1

Syracuse 55, Marquette 39
This game can be summed up in one line: you cannot shoot 22.6% from the field and expect to win.

Syracuse is an anomaly in college basketball, in that they play a 2-3 zone defense almost exclusively. Other teams will mix in some zone as a change of pace, but almost no one else strays from man-to-man as their primary defense. That can make the quick turnaround games (second games of the two opening weekends) tough for 'Cuse opponents, because there isn't much time to study the tape.

Marquette doesn't have this excuse though, as they are a part of the Big East conference. As is Syracuse. Marquette played Syracuse already this season, beating Syracuse 74-71 back in late February. In that game, Marquette shot 42.6% from the field and attempted 35 free throws. In this game, they shot substantially worse and attempted only 16 free throws.

But again, they shot 22.6% from the field. There aren't many scenarios where that type of game doesn't end in a blowout loss.