Hoops shooting key to continuing tournament run

By Tyler Spanyer

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Four teams came to Lexington, Ky., with the dream of making a run to Nashville, Tenn. for the Final Four. On Saturday two teams were sent home with their dreams defeated. UK and Syracuse University hopes were kept alive for a Sweet 16 berth next weekend.

No. 3-seed UK Hoops will face the No. 6-seed Syracuse Monday for a right to play next weekend in the Sweet 16.

The Cats advanced easily past Wright State University Saturday with a 106-60 win, before Syracuse squeaked past Chattanooga University 59-53 in the second game Saturday at Memorial Coliseum.

The Cats used their familiarity with Memorial Coliseum as an advantage, something they will need to replicate Monday in order to get past the pesky Syracuse zone.

“They full-court press you, three-quarter court press you, they’ve got some half-court traps that we’re going to have to deal with and then the 2-3 zone,” said UK head coach Matthew Mitchell. “Which we’ve had some success against, but it certainly hasn’t been automatic this year.”

The Cats have shot well this year averaging 81.3 points per game on 43.5 percent shooting, but they will face a zone that is long, athletic and practiced in what they do.

“We will play zone without a doubt,” said Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman.

The Orange give up just 63.9 points per game and hold opponents to just 39 percent shooting from the field.

“We’re not going to shoot 57 percent because we did on Saturday,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t shoot 57 percent yesterday because we fooled around. We did some really good things. We went to the offensive glass, we got some put-backs, things like that.”

The Cats had seven payers score in double-figures against Wright State, the most since the Cats had eight players score in double-figures on November 21, 2013 against Lipscomb University.

“I’ll be trying to get the team to a spot to where they come out with great focus and trying to do the right things that will help them shoot well,” Mitchell said.

For Syracuse the big question is whether star sophomore point guard Brittney Sykes will be able to play.

“We’re just going to prepare like she’s going to play,” Mitchell said. “I don’t know if this point in time with our team that we make it totally about the opponent. We really try and have a good plan that we can execute whether she’s playing or not.”

The Orange may be without Sykes, their leading scorer, who averages 16.7 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per contest. She was an All-ACC Second team selection and scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in just 26 minutes of action against Chattanooga.

If the Orange are without Sykes, sophomore guard Brianna Butler will have to carry the load for the Orange. Butler is the only other Syracuse player averaging double-figures in scoring at 14.6 points per game.

The Cats and Orange will tip it off at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Memorial Coliseum. UK will look to advance to their third straight Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.