ATB: Syracuse Gets “Jacked” From 60 Feet

Upset of the Night. Cleveland St. 72, Syracuse 69. Cuse has been playing with fire at the Carrier Dome this season, needing comebacks to win against Richmond, Virginia and Cornell, and it appeared they were on track for another comeback, heading to OT after Arinze Onuaku’s putback of Andy Rautins’ missed three that tied the game with 2.2 seconds remaining in regulation.  Cleveland St.’s Cedric Jackson had other thoughts, as in… one sidestep dribble and a 60-foot heave at the rim that went glass and actually dropped for the three-point win – it was his first three of the night to fall (of five attempts).  CSU has now won their last three trips to the Carrier Dome (notably, their previous two were in the 1986 NCAA Tournament when they upset Indiana and St. Joe’s), and don’t sleep on the Vikings – this is a quality team that could win the Horizon and become a nightmare matchup for some unsuspecting power conference foe in the first round of the NCAAs.  J’Nathan Bullock laid an egg in the first half (zero pts), but stepped up for 18 in the second to lead the Vikings.  Jonny Flynn had 16/4/5 assts, but at least one Cuse blog thinks he sleptwalked through most of the game.

What Else You Weren’t Watching Tonight.

• Connecticut 91, Stony Brook 57. Stanley Robinson came off the bench for 7/5 in sixteen solid minutes in his first game back after spending the last five months laboring in a sheet metal and recycling company.  If he can give UConn what he gave the Huskies last year (10/7), then they could be phenomenal.
• Cincinnati 74, Charleston Southern 55. Mike Williams came off the bench to give 10/11 in a comeback win for the Bearcats.
• Northwestern 77, UMKC 62. The boys from Evanston keep winning games, now 7-1.
• Ole Miss 85, Alabama St. 81. David Huertas had 25/6/4 assts in the come-from-behind win for the Rebs.
• Texas A&M 67, Florida A&M 57. Chinemelu Elonu dropped 17/14/6 blks on the Rattlers.
• USC 91, Pepperdine 77. Taj Gibson dropped a career-high 25/11 as the Trojans shot a scorching 59% from the field.

On Tap Tuesday (all times EST). The SEC/Big East Invitational gets going in Nashville, but not much else.

• Vanderbilt v. South Florida (ESPN2) – 7pm
• Texas v. Texas Southern (ESPN FC & 360) – 8pm
• Tennessee v. Marquette (ESPN) – 9:30pm