Mar 20, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Syracuse Orange forward Michael Gbinije (0) leads the way up court for a shot during the second half of the second round against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Scottrade Center. Syracuse won 75-50. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

After a crazy four days of March Madness, both the Syracuse basketball men’s and women’s teams have advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

What a week for Syracuse basketball! On Friday, the men went out and crushed Dayton, followed by the women crushing Army. Then on Sunday, both teams won again, advancing to the Sweet 16. For the ladies, it’s their first Sweet 16 appearance in team history. For the men, it’s a return to prominence after two years absence.

Let’s talk about the women’s game first, since it happened earlier in the day. The women opened the day with a big win over Albany 76-59. As per usual, it was the stifling defense and frenetic pace of the Orange that helped them pull away from a pesky Albany team.

Syracuse was led by Brittany Sykes who had 24 points and 5 rebounds while shooting 50% from the floor. Alexis Peterson also had a very strong showing, chipping in 22 points, 6 rebounds, and a pair of 3-pointers.

Maggie Morrison helped the cause with 11 points and 3-5 shooting from deep. Briana Day had a solid 10 rebounds off the bench. It was a team effort all around as eight different players scored.

The women held a seven point halftime lead but ballooned that to 16 by the end of the third quarter. They were in complete control throughout and despite Albany’s best effort, the game was pretty much over by the start of the fourth quarter.

The Syracuse basketball men’s team also played a great game on Sunday, blowing out 15th seeded MTSU 75-70. Looking at that scoreline, you’d think they cruised in this game, and by the end they did. But for the first 25 minutes, it was actually a closely contested game, with MTSU actually leading by two points early in the second half.

Then the Orange took control with a 22-2 run, led by a suffocating defense and the brilliant play of Michael Gbinije. Silent G finished the game with 23 points, including three 3-pointers, to go along with 3 steals, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. He also shot an insane 10-14 from the field, and was a perfect 7-7 from inside the 3-point line.

Gbinije just had one of those days that players dream of, where the hoop looks more like the grand canyon. He hit fadeaways, he hit turn around jumpers, he hit layups, he made nasty dunks. It was one of his best, most efficient performances in his career. Here’s one of those monster dunks he threw down.

Aside from Gbinije, a number of Orange players stepped up. Tyler Roberson had 12 points and 9 rebounds and was absolutely fierce on both ends. He also was hitting jumpers, making all his free throws, and playing with a focus seldom seen this season.

Trevor Cooney also got into the act, draining 4-7 3-pointers and showing that when he’s hot, he can make this into a completely different team. He played under control and took only good shots. He didn’t have his typical fade to one side, off-balance shots. He also grabbed 6 rebounds and 4 assists, had zero turnovers, and played an overall outstanding game.

I’ve got to give props to Dajuan Coleman as well, who played very well in the second half, scoring 8 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. He also chipped in with a pair of blocks and looked very comfortable in the center of the zone. Hopefully we’ll see more of that as the tournament progresses, because having a good big man in the middle will be essential against bigger teams like Gonzaga.

Overall, it was an incredibly impressive weekend for Syracuse basketball. Both men’s and women’s squads performed outstanding and proved why SU is still a basketball powerhouse. Both squads have earned some much needed rest as they prepare for their Sweet 16 games on Friday.

The Orange men will take on Gonzaga at 9:40 pm Friday night, while the ladies will have a very tough test against the #1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks at either 7 or 9:30 pm. Let’s hope for 7 so that we can watch both teams as they work their way towards the Elite Eight.

Check back later in the week for a preview of both games.