Big East Notes: Orange back from the dead

It was Jan. 30 and the Syracuse Orange had fallen 29 points behind visiting Notre Dame. A time-out was called and the boos fell like a Lake Effect snowstorm. The fans booed the team and then they booed the Syracuse cheerleaders who had run onto the court in a doomed attempt to rally the Orange and the crowd, too.

Syracuse eventually lost the game, 103–91; the most points ever given up by a Jim Boeheim-coached team at the Carrier Dome. It was Syracuse’s third straight loss. The Orange’s record dipped to 15–7 overall and 4–4 in the Big East.

On Monday night, suddenly-resurgent Syracuse defeated 9th-ranked Georgetown, 72–58, in front of 26,287 fans at the Carrier Dome.

The victory marked Syracuse’s fifth consecutive win and its sixth in seven contests since that season-defining loss to Notre Dame. The win snapped Georgetown’s 11-game win streak.

And after the game, Boeheim pointed to his team’s response to the boos from its own fans back on Jan. 30.

"This team's seniors deserve a lot of credit," Boeheim said. "Five or six games ago, people were booing them right here in Syracuse. That's tough to take. Our seniors had to make up their minds that they were going to do something about it. They did."

Syracuse’s seniors are a much-maligned threesome. Demetris Nichols, Terrrence Roberts and Darryl Watkins came to Syracuse on the heels of the Orange’s 2003 NCAA title run. They formed a highly-rated class; a recruiting haul that promised future championships.

In their first three years at Syracuse, the trio (plus Louie McCroskey who transferred to Marist last summer) were the backup singers in Gerry McNamara’s Band. Worse, Syracuse won just two NCAA tournament games in their first three years and both of those came in their freshmen year when none were major factors.

Then came this season; a season billed as “Not 10 I (bleeping) games” in honor of Boeheim’s rant in support of McNamara at last year’s Big East Tournament in which he seemingly threw the rest of his squad under the proverbial New York City taxi.

Syracuse would not have won 10 games without McNamara, said Boeheim, so what were Syracuse fans to make of this year’s senior-led team?

Well, they expressed their opinion on the night of Jan. 30. They booed.

Then Syracuse’s seniors stepped up. Nichols, a sweet-shooting 6-foot-8 forward, has emerged as a candidate for the Big East’s Player of the Year award. He leads the Big East in scoring (19.0 ppg) and he hit several clutch 3-pointers in the win over Georgetown.

Roberts and Watkins played Georgetown’s ballyhooed tandem of Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green to a standstill. Hibbert and Green combined for 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Watkins and Roberts totaled 15 points and 14 boards.

That allowed Nichols’ 22-point performance to tilt the scales. In addition, Syracuse got 13 points from sophomore Andy Rautins and an 11-point, 11-assist game out of sophomore guard Eric Devendorf.

Syracuse’s 14-point win was the worst loss for the Hoyas this season. The Orange held Georgetown, which shoots 52.2 percent as a team, to a season-low 29.8 percent shooting effort.

"We definitely came in thinking like this is the game we needed," Watkins said. The 6-foot-11 center was one of four Syracuse seniors playing their final game at the Carrier Dome. "This is what everybody's been waiting for — the seniors to step up. We also wanted to leave our home court with something to remember."

Syracuse has gone from 5–5 in the Big East to 10–5 in just two weeks.

"We didn't deserve to be in (the NCAA Tournament) 10 days ago, but in college basketball, a lot can change in 10 days," Boeheim said. "We knew five games ago that we had to win and play well."

Syracuse defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since a Jan. 7 win at Marquette. The win was Syracuse's first regular-season victory over a top-10 team since the Orange beat Connecticut in the last home game of the 2003-04 season.

It also was Syracuse's largest margin of victory over the arch-rival Hoyas since a 67–52 win in the 1999-00 season.

“We’ve come a long way,” Boeheim said. “A long way. I’m really proud of this team. I don't think we've had any team that's been in as bad a position and made this kind of a stretch drive — that I can remember, anyway. They deserve a lot of credit.”

Boeheim felt his Orange deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament even before Monday’s win over Georgetown. He even took a few jabs at analysts — especially ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb — who have been critical of the Orange’s chances at a tournament bid in recent weeks.

“We didn’t have a chance four games ago. Doug Gottlieb said we don’t even have a chance to be in the tournament,” Boeheim said. “We were 8–5 in the Big East and we don’t have a chance? We beat Marquette at Marquette and they’re in the tournament. We beat Villanova by 11 points and they’re in the tournament? And Syracuse doesn’t have a chance to be in the tournament? I don’t mind if they say we’re on the bubble, but when they say we don’t have a chance to be in the tournament that’s just absolutely absurd. People like that should lose all credibility. All credibility.

“We go up and beat Providence,” Boeheim continued. “They lost once at home in the league to Villanova and beat everybody else. We beat them and it’s like, ‘Well, they’ve got to beat Georgetown.’

“That must mean if you’re in the ACC, you’ve got to beat Carolina and Duke to get in the tournament. You’ve got to beat Ohio State if you’re in the Big Ten to get into the tournament? Come on.

“We were, in my mind, deserving to be in the tournament before tonight. If we’re 9–5, 9–6, 9–7, whatever we were in the Big East, that should be good enough to get into the tournament.

“But we don’t have to argue about that anymore.”

And the Syracuse fans don’t have to boo anymore either.

Key Development of the Week
Georgetown’s win over Pittsburgh on Saturday was the Hoyas’ 11th straight win against Big East competition before falling to Syracuse on Monday. That was the longest conference win streak in Georgetown history. The Hoyas won 10 in a row in the 1984-85 season. The Big East record for consecutive wins in the same season is 14; set by St. John’s in 1984-85.

Rising Team: Louisville
Georgetown has been getting a lot of attention but watch out for Louisville. The Cardinals have won five in a row. Three of the wins have come on the road at Pittsburgh, Marquette and Connecticut. That’s quite a run.

Falling Team: Marquette
The Golden Eagles lost at Notre Dame on Saturday, falling for the fourth time in their last five games. Marquette is now 22–8 for the season, but 9–6 in the Big East. A team that once had a lock on a top four finish and a bye in the Big East Tournament is now looking at a first-round game. In addition, Marquette’s gone from a Top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament to an 8 or 9 seed.

Player of the Week: Herbert Hill, F, Providence
Hill averaged 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds as the Friars beat West Virginia in the middle of the week and then lost to Syracuse on Saturday. In the Syracuse game, Hill celebrated Senior Day with a career-high 29 points and 15 rebounds against the Orange. Hill also blocked eight shots but his effort wasn’t enough as no other Providence player scored in double-figures in the 71-67 loss.

Freshmen of the Week: Luke Harangody, C,  and Tory Jackson, G, Notre Dame
Notre Dame got huge contributions from its two freshmen in a 2–0 week. Harangody, a burly center, scored 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in Notre Dame’s big 85–73 win over Marquette on Saturday. Harangody had 13 points and seven boards in a win over DePaul earlier in the week.

Jackson, a point guard, scored a career-high 21 points against Marquette. He also had seven rebounds and seven assists. Against DePaul, Jackson had 13 points, a career-high nine rebounds and six assists.

Stat of the Week
Notre Dame’s Colin Falls broke Gerry McNamara‚s one-year-old record for most 3-pointers made in Big East history. McNamara made 183 3-pointers in Big East play. Falls surpassed McNamara’s total in the Irish’s win over Marquette on Saturday. Falls has one more game to add to his record.

They Said It
“The way the game was being called, you’re not going to get (a call on) a slap in the side of the head. You’ve got to pretty much get tackled to get a foul out there.” — Providence coach Tim Welsh after Friars guard Weyinmi Efejuku got hit in the head by Syracuse center Darryl Watkins on a drive to the basket in the final seconds of Saturday’s game. Despite the contact, no foul was called. Syracuse, which led by two at the time, rebounded Efejuku’s miss and held on for a 71–67 win.

Key Upcoming Games
Tuesday, Feb. 27:
West Virginia at Pittsburgh: West Virginia is on the NCAA bubble. The Mountaineers need an upset win. Their only other regular season game is on Saturday against lowly Cincinnati. Pittsburgh needs a win to hold off hard-charging Louisville for second-place in the Big East.

Wednesday, Feb. 28:
Villanova at Connecticut: Villanova is hanging onto an NCAA bid. The Wildcats are 19–9 overall, including a non-conference win over Texas, but they’re 7–7 in the Big East with games at UConn and home against Syracuse remaining.

Saturday, March 3:
Notre Dame at Rutgers: Notre Dame reaches the 10-win mark in conference play with a win at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are 3–12 in the league and won’t make the Big East Tournament, but the RAC is still a tough place to play.

Pittsburgh at Marquette: If things break right for Pittsburgh, the Panthers can still get the top seed in the Big East Tournament. Marquette needs to stop its late-season slide. And Marquette won at Pitt earlier in the season.