Dayton is no longer dancin’.
The seventh-seeded Flyers were handled 70-51 by 10th-seeded Syracuse on Friday in their NCAA Tournament opener in St. Louis.
Dayton was led by Charles Cooke (13 points) and Scoochie Smith (12 points).
Freshman Malachi Richardson had a game-high 21 points for the Orange.
Syracuse (20-13) advances to face Michigan State or Middle Tennessee State on Sunday.
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NCAA SCOREBOARD: Live updates from the tournament
Update: 3:18 second half
Syracuse leads Dayton 58-41 with 58-41 with 3:18 left to play.
Scoochie Smith has 10 points to pace the Flyers.
Update: 11:42 Second half
Syracuse leads Dayton 47-33 with 11:42 to play.
Update: 14:56 Second half
A 9-1 Syracuse run to start the second half has given the Orange a 10-point lead (39-29) over Dayton.
UPDATE: 15:47 Second Half
Syracuse still leads Dayton — 34-29 with 15:47 to play.
Malachi Richardson, who leads the Orange with 10 points, just picked up his third foul, but he’s still on the floor.
UPDATE Halftime
Syracuse only made 1 of its nine shots but the Orange have heated up since — 10 of 17 — to grab a 30-28 hafltime lead.
Malachi Richardson lead Syracuse with 10 points.
Scoochie Smith has nine points to lead Dayton.
While the Orange got hot, the Flyers went cold, finishing the half 10-of-29 (34.5 percent) from the field. The Flyers also have been outrebounded 20-14.
“The big thing for us is we have to control the ones that are easy,” UD coach Archie Miller told CBS at halftime. “We probably should have 35 to 38 points. If we’re patient, we’ll find a way to score.”
UPDATE 2:37 first half
The A 10-3 run has the Syracuse Orange up 28-23 with 2:37 to play in the first half.
Malachi Richardson lead the Orange with 10 points. Scoochie Smith and Charles Cooke have six points apiece for Dayton.
UPDATE: 7:37 first half
Dayton leads 20-18 with 7:37 to play in the first half.
Charles Cooke had six points to pace the Flyers, who have hit a trio of 3-pointers.
Malachi Richardson has 10 points for the Orange.
UPDATE: 11:55 first half
The Flyers lead the Orange 12-8 with 11:55 to play in the first half.
Dyshawn Pierre has four points to pace the Flyers.
UPDATE: 13:30 first half
The Dayton Flyers are off to an 6-4 lead with 13:50 to play in the first half of their NCAA Tournament opener vs. Syracuse.
It’s been a sloppy start for both teams.
Dayton has hit 3 of 10 shots; Syracuse is 1 of 9 from the field.
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Series history: Dayton leads 2-1. Syracuse beat Dayton 84-74 in 1975, in Syracuse. Dayton won 76-67 at UD Arena in 1977. No. 11 seed Dayton beat No. 3 seed Syracuse 55-53 in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2014.
Last game: Dayton lost 82-79 to St. Joseph’s in the semifinals of the A-10 tournament. Syracuse lost 72-71 to Pittsburgh on March 9 in the second round of the ACC tournament.
Next game: The Dayton-Syracuse winner plays No. 2 seed Michigan State (29-4) or No. 15 Middle Tennessee State (24-9) on Sunday at a time to be announced. The Spartans and Blue Raiders play at 2:45 p.m. Friday.
Coaches: Dayton’s Archie Miller is 115-54 in five seasons and 5-2 in two NCAA tournament appearances. Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim is 880-341 in 40 seasons. He had 101 wins vacated between 2004-07 and 2010-12 seasons because of NCAA infractions
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