Mar 27, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Brice Johnson (11) reacts against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half in the championship game in the East regional of the NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
CHICAGO – No. 10-seeded Syracuse used a wild second-half rally to propel the Orange to a 68-62 win over top-seeded Virginia on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Regional final
The Orange closed the game on a 31-11 run and erased a 16-point, second-half deficit to advance to the Final Four for the sixth time in school history. Syracuse (23-13) will meet North Carolina in a national semifinal on Saturday in Houston.
Freshman forwards Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon combined for 29 points in the second half, including back-to-back 3-pointers that fueled a 15-0 run.
Richardson finished with a game-high 23 points, and Michael Gbinije and Lydon each added 11 points.
Syracuse became the first No. 10 seed in NCAA history to advance to a Final Four and just the fourth double-digit seed to make it.
Guard London Perrantes scored 18 points to lead Virginia (29-8). Guard Malcolm Brogdon added 12 points despite shooting 2-of-14 from the field.
North Carolina 88, Notre Dame 74
PHILADELPHIA — North Carolina became the only No. 1 seed to advance to the Final Four as it won the NCAA East Regional Final over sixth-seeded Notre Dame at Wells Fargo Center.
The Tar Heels (32-6) got 25 points and 12 rebounds from Brice Johnson, who was one of five Tar Heels with 10 points or more.
North Carolina trailed by a point when it went on a 12-0 run to establish an 11-point lead with 9:19 remaining.
Senior guard Demetrius Jackson led Notre Dame with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Junior wing V.J. Beachem added 18 for the Fighting Irish.
