Syracuse cracks Wisconsin's defense in 64-63 win

Syracuse will be playing for a spot in the Final Four because of numbers. C.J. Fair put up some that he hadn't in a while, and the Orange finished with offensive statistics that Wisconsin just doesn't allow in a 64-63 victory in the East Regional semifinals in Boston on Thursday night. "Offensively we played very, very well, and we had to play very, very well," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. Fair finished with 15 points - five fewer than he had in the past six games combined - on 7-of-9 shooting. The Orange scored 11 more than the Badgers allowed on average in leading Division I. Syracuse shot 55 percent from the field, well above the 38.5 percent Wisconsin gave up this season, and the Orange were 5-of-9 from three-point range, much better than the 28.8 percent the Badgers allowed. All those numbers mean the Orange (34-2) will play Ohio State in the regional final Saturday with a trip to New Orleans at stake. "I can't tell you how good it feels to win a game like this," Boeheim said. "This was a great, great game." And it wasn't decided until Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor missed a three-pointer with 3 seconds left. The Badgers' Josh Gasser corralled the rebound, but his toss toward the basket was off at the buzzer. "It was on line, and I felt like I got my legs into it," Taylor said. "I knew it was a deep three, but it felt good, and then to see it kind of come up short was kind of heart-breaking." Kris Joseph, a 75 percent free-throw shooter, had missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 18 seconds left and Syracuse up by a point, giving the Badgers (26-10) a chance at the victory. Passing the ball around the perimeter of the zone but not creating much space, Wisconsin had to settle for Taylor's shot. Ohio State 81, Cincinnati 66: Deshaun Thomas scored 26 points, and Jared Sullinger had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Buckeyes (30-7) to the East Regional semifinal win in Boston. ... Aaron Craft added 11 points - all in the second half - with five assists and six steals, taking charge during a 17-1 second-half run that turned a four-point deficit into a double-digit lead. ... Cashmere Wright scored 18, and Sean Kilpatrick had 15 for the sixth-seeded Bearcats (26-11). Florida 68, Marquette 58: Bradley Beal scored 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting and added six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots to push the seventh-seeded Gators (26-10) into the West Regional final against Louisville. ... Jae Crowder, a senior and the Big East Player of the Year, finished with 15 points, and Darius Johnson-Odom added 14, but each hit just 5 of 15 shots for Marquette (27-8), which shot 31 percent and was held 18 points under its season average. Briefly: North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall says his broken right wrist is improving each day, but he's still not sure if he'll be able to play tonight against Ohio in the Midwest Regional semifinals. ... Villanova junior guard Maalik Wayns will forego his final season of eligibility and remain in the pool of candidates for the NBA draft. ... Creighton sophomore star Doug McDermott says he's not considering declaring for the draft.