For too long, the defining moment of the Syracuse University basketball program was its historic upset loss to Richmond in 1991, the first time a No. 2 seed was upset by a No. 15 seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Orangemen were rightly labeled as postseason underachievers but, for more than a decade since, Syracuse has been one of the most consistent overachievers in March.
Though they've only once been seeded higher than fourth — winning the national title last year as a 3 seed — the Orangemen have posted a 22-8 record in the NCAA tournament, including this year's run to the Sweet 16. Coach Jim Boeheim's .733 winning percentage in the Big Dance since 1992 trails the career tournament winning percentages of only four active coaches — Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Louisville's Rick Pitino and San Diego State's Steve Fisher.
Of those eight losses, four have come against No. 1 seeds (Missouri 1994, Kentucky 1996, Duke 1998, Michigan State 2000), one came against a No. 2 seed (Arkansas 1995) and one against a No. 3 seed (Massachusetts 1992). Only once in 10 tournament appearances since the Richmond loss, including 2004, has Syracuse fallen to a lower-seeded team, losing as a No. 8 seed to No. 9 seed Oklahoma State in 1999. Three of those losses came in overtime.
(Syracuse's tournament history | coaches' tournament records)
Boeheim is clearly getting better with age. He's Barry Bonds without the 'roids, and it must be said, with no qualifiers, that he's among the best coaches in college basketball. Today and any day. For eight straight tournament games, Syracuse's has dictated the pace and frustrated opponents with its zone defense. They've won them all, beating the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Maryland on their own terms. Boeheim has had as much of an effect on those games as a coach could possibly have.
Of course, most of the credit belongs to the players. For a dozen years, they've received an average tournament seeding of 5.1 (6, 4, 7, 4, 5, 8, 4, 5, 3, 5), advancing to the Sweet 16 in six of their last nine tournament appearances and winning the 2003 national championship. Now that's a pretty clutch program. Richmond is now just a distant memory.
As for the present, ESPN's Andy Katz sums it up thusly: San Antonio Suddenly Within Syracuse's Sights.
Other Sports Links:
• Packer to Call St. Joe's-Wake Forest Game — Rudy Martzke of USA Today reports that CBS is sending Billy Packer and Jim Nantz to East Rutherford, N.J., to call Thursday's regional semifinal game between St. Joe's and Wake Forest, Packer's alma mater and powerhouse conference rep. Martzke also has plenty of other media tid-bits from the tournament.
• Photos: Veterans Stadium Imploded — If only they'd do this to Fenway, with Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez still in it.
• Jason Williams' Duke Website — Friggin' hilarious personal site supposedly created by the former Duke All-American. (Found on Hi-Fi NY)
• Know Him From Adam: Mel Kiper, Jr. — An old, but still engaging interview with the ESPN draft guru. Kiper says he overachieved in marriage and, even though I have never seen his wife, I must say I agree with him.
• Mark Cuban on Referee Tendencies — The Mavs owner shares data on fouls being way down across the board since the All-Star break.
• Gators Undone by Manhattan, and Couldn't Have Cared Less — A scathing column by CBS SportsLine's Gregg Doyel on the apathetic Florida Gators' uninspiring first-round loss.
• Best NCAA Tournament Games Ever — Joe Concha recounts the five best, all of which came during a period when the best players actually hung around a couple of years. Of course, my top two are Syracuse over Kansas in 2003 and Syracuse over Kansas in 1996. Can't wait till we play those guys again.
excellent post. Boeheim, despite all his accolades, has always underrated. His teams are always prepared for the opponent - they know what they need to do to beat people, whether they can or will do it is another story...
and in a wacky tournament like this years, there no reason to think our boys can't go far.
I will quibble and say I think SU hoops was more defined by the Keith Smart shot in 1987 resulting in the one point loss in the national championship. One of the first things Boeheim said after the 2003 game was he was glad they won for members of the 1987 team - Rony Seikly, Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, etc.
Posted by amy at March 21, 2004 9:43 PM