Monday's Shootaround: Kansas and Syracuse prove why they're Final Four favorites

Syracuse 73, Georgetown 56: Three minutes into the game, Georgetown was up 14-0. They were 5-5 from the floor and 4-4 from three. Austin Freeman alone had hit three threes. My how things changed, as Georgetown managed just 42 points over the next 37 minutes as the Orange ran roughshod over the Hoyas, outscoring them by 31 points. The root of the problem for Georgetown was their inability to get any kind of penetration against the Syracuse zone. The Orange didn't allow dribble drives, and the Hoyas struggled to get the ball into the high post, which anyone can tell you is the key to beating a 2-3 zone.

Austin Freeman played great once again, finishing with 23 points, but Chris Wright and Greg Monroe both struggled. Monroe, who battled foul trouble in the second half, finished with just 8 points and 4 boards to go along with his 6 turnovers. Wright scored just seven points on 3-10 shooting. For the Orange, Andy Rautins had 15 points, 6 assists, and 6 steals, Kris Joseph added 15 points off the bench, and Wes Johnson had 14 points and 9 boards.

Kansas 84, Missouri 65: The Jayhawks were just too much for the Tigers, as this was barely a contest after the first five minutes. And Kansas didn't do it the way you think they would have. Sherron Collins had just 6 points and 2 assists while turning the ball over 5 times. In fact, Kansas lost the turnover battle by 20 (24 turnovers committed versus 4 turnovers forced) and still won by 19. The biggest reason was their defense, anchored by Cole Aldrich, who is fast becoming one of the most dominating post presence in the Big XII. He had 16 boards (14 defensive), 7 blocked shots, and started countless fast breaks with his exceptional ability to throw an outlet pass. Missouri shot just 27.8% from the floor for the game, a number that was below 25% before the Tigers scored a couple of buckets late.

Other notable scores

• Western Carolina 100, College of Charleston 90: The Catamounts handed the Cougars their first loss in conference play as they shot 59.4% from the floor and 11-16 from deep. More impressive, however, was CofC's performance from. They made 19-35 to keep the game close.
• Southern Illinois 68, Western Kentucky 63: Kevin Dillard scored 17 points and added 10 assists and 7 boards as the Salukis picked up an out-of-conference win.
  

Monday's Best:

• Andrew Guodelock had 24 points and 11 assists, but it wasn't enough as CofC lost to Western Carolina.
• Ben Smith scored 31 points for Jacksonville, who notched a win over Savannah State.
• Kyle O'Quinn scored 32 points and added 11 boards, but it wasn't enough as Norfolk State lost to South Carolina State.
• Marquez Haynes went for 32 points, 9 assists, and 4 steals as UT-Arlington knocked off Houston Baptist.