Syracuse advances to Sweet 16

      PITTSBURGH -- It had been a while since Syracuse played like the team that spent all season ranked in the top five.

In the second half Saturday, the top-seeded Orange looked like that group and maybe even better, pulling away to a 75-59 victory over eighth-seeded Kansas State in the third round of the East Regional.

"The second half, we made shots. We haven't done that lately," Orange coach Jim Boeheim said. "Our offense was not good in the first half. We had to pick it up on the offensive end. Our defense was very good the first half. We got killed on the boards. ... Second half we did a much better job on the boards."

Scoop Jardine had 16 points and eight assists, Dion Waiters had 18 points and James Southerland added 15 for the Orange (33-2), who didn't wait until the final minutes to seal the win as they did in the second round against 16th-seeded North Carolina-Asheville.

"I think we picked it up on both ends of the floor. Especially on the defensive end, we got what we wanted. We were able to get transition baskets," said Kris Joseph, who had 11 points. "There was a lot of space on the offensive end. We got open shots, open looks; we knocked 'em down. This is the way I like us to play. Everyone was involved. The scoring balance -- it was really balanced tonight. That's how we're supposed to play."