Leading up to the early part of the 2021-22 Syracuse basketball campaign, it’s a good time for a 10-part series highlighting the best of the Boeheim era (1976-present).
I’ll give my takes, ranking the “Top 3” in many categories, from best free throw shooters to most exciting on a fast break. From top games in the Dome, to top games in the NCAA tourney and everything else in between.
I was 7-years-old in 1976 when Jim Boeheim, who is second all-time in career victories within Division I men’s basketball, became the head coach of the Orange. If I haven’t watched (or listened on the radio) intently to every single Syracuse basketball game since then, then it’s close to 98%.
Statistical facts in each Top 3 are fueled by the awesome OrangeHoops.org web site.
Part 1: Top 3 Triple Doubles.
Part 2: Top 3 Free Throw Shooters.
Part 3: Top 3 Most Exciting on Fast Break.
Part 4: Top 3 Games at the Carrier Dome.
Part 5: Top 3 Shot Blockers.
Part 6: Top 3 Scorers.
Part 7: Top 3 Dunkers.
Today, it’s Part 8: My Top 3 NCAA tournament games in the Boeheim era.
Jim Boeheim, in his 44 years as coach, has taken Syracuse basketball to the NCAA Tournament 35 times. He’s advanced to the Sweet 16 in 20 of those tournaments and the Elite Eight 7 times. Boeheim has been head coach of the Orange for 5 Final Fours, been to 3 national championship games, and of course, won the National Championship once.
He’s fourth all-time in NCAA tournament wins, behind only Coach K (Duke), Roy Williams (Kansas and North Carolina) and Dean Smith (North Carolina).
That’s a long way of saying Syracuse basketball fans have enjoyed an awesome ride through the magic of March Madness for decades, so choosing the top 3 NCAA Tournament games in Boeheim’s career isn’t easy, but here it goes:
1. Syracuse vs. Kansas, 2003 National Championship Game
The Syracuse Post-Standard sports page headline the next day said it all. “BELIEVE IT” screamed across the top, reassuring all of us that may have thought SU winning the national championship was a dream, that what happened in that game the night before was indeed real.
I see that headline and sports page every day, because it hangs framed in my home. I remember every play of that game, from the breathtaking first-half blitz when the Orange put up 53 points and took an 11 point lead at the break, to a second-half praying for the clock to run down as the Jayhawks dominance on the boards threatened to wear us down. And, I remember every minute of that day, including getting a speeding ticket in my haste to get home from work to prepare to watch.
Syracuse basketball, a team depending on freshman leadership during an era where that was practically unheard of, beat favored Kansas, 81-78, in front of 54,524 fans, to cap a 6-game run through the 2003 tournament (which included four wins over Big 12 teams: the Jayhawks, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma in the East Region Final and Texas in the Final Four).
The game and the championship brought pride to all of us who love Central New York. It exorcised the Keith Smart demons right there in that same New Orleans Superdome where our magical run in 1987 had ended at the hands of Indiana. And it validated Boeheim, solidified him as a legend who had built a Championship program so rich and unique that it helped shape college basketball.
It took this long to say his name: Carmelo Anthony. The best freshman in Syracuse basketball history, the best freshman in the country, the player we could all tell, from Game 1 that season, was the special person that could take us all the way to the promised land. We loved Melo. We still do. His smile, his well-rounded game, his flair for the dramatic, his headband, his passion for playing and for winning. He looked perfect in Orange. Boeheim used him perfectly. And in this national championship game, Melo lead all scorers with 20 points, had 10 rebounds and 7 assists while battling a bad back the whole second half. Carmelo won the NCAA Final Four MVP award, he was only 19, and he was electric. As CBS-TV analyst Billy Packer said during the game after a spectacular assist, “This young man…understands how to play the game.” It was an understatement, but it was so incredible to hear, on this stage, in this game.
As beautiful as it was watching Melo fulfill our dreams, for the first half of this National Championship game it was the more unassuming freshman guard from Scranton, Pa., Gerry McNamara, who captured our imagination. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from 3 point land in the first half, including some bombs practically from the midcourt logo. GMac took the nation’s breath away with his shooting and confidence. Every re-watch of the first half of that game elicits the same joy, with each of his daggers.
And of course, the game’s punctuation mark was provided by sophomore forward Hakim Warrick, who made “The Block” of Kansas guard Michael Lee’s 3-point attempt, which could have tied it with the clock winding down. Warrick seemingly appeared out of thin air to make the miraculous rejection, right around the same location on the same floor where Smart had broken our hearts with a jumper to win the 1987 national championship. Hakim’s block is now part of NCAA tournament history, and it’s the large image beneath “BELIEVE IT” on that perfect sports page.
Kansas was led by two seniors who had great college careers and long NBA runs, Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison. They combined for 35 points, and Collison had 21 rebounds. In the end, poor free-throw shooting hurt coach Roy Williams’ club, but that team’s great history, its passionate fanbase, its grit and determination made the win even more special.
We have to mention the rest of the Syracuse basketball cast, that all rose to the occasion for big moments in our favorite game ever: Kueth Duany had 11 points including two big 3s; center Craig Forth played 24 minutes, had six points and three blocks, and his backup Jeremy McNeil played 13 minutes with five huge boards battling the power of Kansas underneath; and then there was Billy Edelin and Josh Pace, who slashed and dashed for a combined 20 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, protecting the ball and making big plays.
The game:
2. Syracuse vs. Virginia, 2016 Regional Final
Virginia was the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region.
Syracuse was No. 10 in the region, barely getting into the tournament as a bubble team after Boeheim served a 9-game suspension from the NCAA earlier in the season.
Virginia had beaten us pretty easily earlier in the campaign. Their coach Tony Bennett, their system and discipline were just so intimidatingly good. They were led by the unflappable Malcolm Brogdon, ACC Player of the Year.
And fairly deep into the second half, Virginia was leading Syracuse by 16 points, 54-39.
This game was over.
I was there. I brought my 13-year-old son at the time, to Chicago for the game. And I was resigned to face reality. How could we possibly come back against a team this good?
Adding insult to injury, the fan sitting next to me was a UVa grad, and at that point in the game, he got up and went to get an ice cream. Came back to his seat and as I sat there in excruciating pain of believing our run was over, he sat next to me eating an ice cream, with so much confidence that his team was going to the Final Four.
I slumped over, and I told my son it was over. And my son said, “it’s not over.”
It was not over.
Syracuse basketball went into Boeheim’s famous frantic press and scored 25 out of the next 29 points. Freshman Malachi Richardson appeared to be sent to us from the heavens, scoring 21 points in the second half on amazing plays and a hot hand from 3. His “3-goggles” will live in our hearts forever. The electricity going through that building, where Michael Jordan had played for the Bulls, was beyond thrilling.
At one point during the comeback, Boeheim was wheeling his arms like The Who’s Pete Townsend on a guitar as his defense and offense were clicking together on par with any stretch in the history of his program. It was as if the Coach was on a big winner’s roll at the craps table.
And I seriously almost passed out. Now standing up with a major head rush, cheering this improbable comeback.
As I stood there amazed as the clock ran out, I looked at my son, who hadn’t given up, and he looked up at me and said the magic words, “FINAL FOUR!”
Yes, the win earned Boeheim his fifth trip to the Final Four as head coach. Getting a chance to watch him cut down the nets in person was something I’ll always cherish.
Seven players saw the court for the Orange in the game, with the three others joining Malachi in double figures scoring being forward Tyler Roberson (10 points, 8 rebounds), Duke transfer Michael Gbinije (11 points, 6 assists) who had made a successful move to an unnatural point guard position and created all kinds of problems for teams at the top of the zone, and freshman Tyler Lydon who had 11 points (including 3-5 from three featuring one splash despite having lost his shoe before the shot), six boards and five blocked shots. Senior Trevor Cooney made it to his second Final Four with 8 points, homegrown center Dajuan Coleman had 7 rebounds and guard Frank Howard got in for nine minutes, converting two free throws.
And that meme of the overconfident Virginia player on the bench during the game? Yeah, that will live forever too.
Re-watch the highlights from comeback:
3. Syracuse vs. Georgia, 1996 Sweet Sixteen
“The ‘Cuse is in the House, Oh my God! Oh my God! The ‘Cuse is in the House, Oh my God!”
That was the song sung by the victorious Orangemen after their thrilling 83-81 OT win in Denver, over the Bulldogs to advance into the Elite Eight. The song and our team’s jubilation sent legendary coach and announcer Al McGuire into a dance, brought smiles to Syracuse basketball fans everywhere and memorably capped a game with so many ups and downs it’s amazing our hearts could take it.
Coach Tubby Smith’s Georgia team was an 8 seed, looking for an upset over No. 4 seed Syracuse in the West Region. The Bulldogs came back from down 7 to the Orange at halftime and took a 70-68 lead with 3.5 seconds remaining after two maddening offensive rebounds and three shots on the basket on their last possession.
But then the real March Madness took over.
Syracuse basketball took a timeout and from under our own basket moved the ball up to around half-court to take another timeout. Then SU forward John Wallace, the best player on the floor and in my opinion the entire NCAA tournament that year, with 2.4 seconds left, made an incredible inbound pass to the far corner baseline to Jason Cipolla. Cipolla, a junior transfer shooter, swished one of the most exciting tying baskets in program history as the regulation clock expired.
But the breathtaking action was just heating up. The last minute of the OT would be hard to make up for a fictional tale. Wallace, who averaged 22 points and 9 rebounds in his senior campaign, scored under the basket with 15 seconds left to give Syracuse the lead, 80-78.
But as TV analyst McGuire yelled at the Syracuse defense, “you don’t want to give them the 3-point shot!” Georgia indeed got the 3 point shot, converted and put the Bulldogs up 81-80 with 7 seconds left.
There would be no time out this time. Wallace got the inbound pass at half-court and took it directly to the top of the key for a 3-pointer that went straight in with 2.8 seconds left to reclaim the lead for Syracuse basketball. The crowd was deafening, having witnessed big shot after big shot by both teams.
Georgia had no more miracles, and the Orange advanced as McGuire screamed to a national audience what we all were saying, “WHAT A GAME! WHAT A GAME!”
The Orange went on to upset Kansas in the Elite Eight, advancing to Boeheim’s third Final Four as head coach, where the ‘Cuse beat Mississippi State before eventually falling to a loaded No. 1 Kentucky team in the title game.
In that Georgia Sweet Sixteen contest, Wallace finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds, even though he could only play 35 of the 45 minutes due to foul trouble. Center Otis Hill, one of the most underrated players in program history, had 19 points and 11 boards. Cipolla finished with 17 points, point guard and local product Lazarus Sims had 10 points and 10 assists, and Todd Burgan was the other solid player throughout with 7 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Two bits of trivia tied to that game. First of all, one of the heroes, Cipolla, went on to be a longtime boyfriend of Lorraine Bracco of Sopranos fame. Second, former Syracuse football QB and should-be future Pro Football Hall of Famer Donovan McNabb, who was a “walk-on” for the Orange basketball team, played 8 minutes for Boeheim in the game.
Relive the conclusion: