No. 12 finished the game 15-23 for 246 yards—a stellar 16 yards per catch—with three touchdowns, including one to ersatz tailback Lewellyn Coker to cap the Orange scoring barrage.
Syracuse was eliminated from the Big East Tournament, 71-68, by Cincinnati on Friday night. But shortly after, the Orange immediately set its sights on its ultimate goal—an NCAA championship.
The practically sold-out Garden was rocking in orange as the now 31-1 Orange rallied and held off pesky Connecticut down the stretch 58-55 in Thursday’s quarterfinal round game of the 2012 tourney.
Southerland scored 10 points and added four rebounds and two blocks in a season-high 27 minutes as Syracuse moved on to the Big East tournament semifinals with a 58-55 win over Connecticut.
Thursday afternoon’s Big East Tournament quarterfinal game between top-seeded Syracuse and #9-seed Connecticut did not have all the drama of their last quarterfinal matchup in 2009 that went six overtimes.