Boeheim wins Coach of the Year

Syracuse Orange head coach Jim Boeheim has been voted the Associated Press Coach of the Year.

While the Orange had a disappointing finish, no one can argue with Boeheim’s impressive coaching job.

The Orange lost a number of key stars off of last year’s team, a couple of which are now in the NBA.

Instead of rebuilding the program, Boeheim just reloaded around a mixed group of veterans and young players.

He guided Syracuse to the Big East regular season championship and an appearance in the Sweet 16.

Saturday, April 3, 2010 at 9:01 am by steve

Syracuse upset by Butler, 63-59

The Syracuse Orange rallied back from a deficit but ultimately came up short in a 63-59 loss to the Butler Bulldogs.

Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone actually did it’s job, forcing Butler into a terrible night shooting from behind the arc.

Unfortunately, the Orange turned the ball over 18 times to give Butler plenty of fast-break points.

Syracuse was considered the favorite to get to the national championship game, along with Kentucky, after Kansas went down.

The team was without their starting center for the tournament, but it’s still a very disappointing loss after such a strong season.

Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 11:21 am by steve

Orange bounced from regional semis by Butler

By Bud L. Ellis

Down 10 points at halftime, the Syracuse Orange started the second half of their West Regional semifinal Thursday night on a 15-4 run. Surely, this would be where the No. 1 seed in the West would take control.

Instead, it was Butler who hung tough, then ripped off an 11-0 run down the stretch. As a result, the Orange’s NCAA dreams – and stay in this NCAA Tournament – ended with a 63-59 loss in Salt Lake City.

Instead of moving on to the West Regional final, instead of playing for a berth in the Final Four, it’s over for Syracuse (30-5), a team that started the season unranked and yet elevated itself through the rugged Big East conference to a No. 1 ranking in the nation in the season’s final month.

Wes Johnson led Syracuse with 17 points and added nine rebounds. Syracuse was doomed by 18 turnovers, which equalized Butler’s poor shooting night from the 3-point line.

Syracuse led 54-50 with 5:23 left, but the Bulldogs scored the game’s next 11 points to take control and end the Orange’s season.

—30—

Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 10:08 pm by bud

Tags: Big East Conference, Butler, Final Four, NCAA Tournament, Syracuse Orange, Wes Johnson

Syracuse routs Villanova, 95-77

The No. 4 Syracuse Orange made a case from the No. 1 ranking with a 95-77 throttling of the No. 8 Villanova Wildcats.

Syracuse set an attendance record at the Carrier Dome for the largest on-campus crowd to ever watch a college basketball game.

They made sure all of those in attendance did not leave disappointed, jumping on the Wildcats from the first whistle and never let up.

Syracuse had six players score in double figures. Rick Jackson led the way with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

With Kansas, Kentucky and Purdue all losing over the weekend, it seems very likely that Syracuse will be the new No. 1 team in the country.

Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 9:33 am by steve

Syracuse falls to Louisville, 66-60

The No. 2 Syracuse Orange were the victim of a rare home loss at the hands of the Louisville Cardinals, 66-60.

The Orange sprinted out to a big lead early in what seemed to be a cake-walk to a victory, but not so fast.

Syracuse became complacent, and Louisville rallied back quickly to take control of the game.

The Orange still had a chance to tie or win the game in the final minute, but a couple of questionable calls and missed shots closed that window of opportunity.

Head coach Jim Boeheim recently warned his team they would lose if they kept playing poorly, but apparently they didn’t heed his advice.

Friday, February 19, 2010 at 4:22 pm by steve

Syracuse pulls away from Cincinnati, 71-54

The No. 4 Syracuse Orange turned a close game into a rout with a 71-54 victory over the host Cincinnati Bearcats.

The Bearcats actually held a lead for a significant part of the second half, but that’s when the highly-ranked Orange decided it was time to take over.

Specifically, it was guard Andy Rautins who took over the game. He scored a game-high 20 points and made some key plays in the final minutes to blow it open.

It also didn’t hurt that the Orange’s defense seemed to befuddle Cincinnati down the stretch, as the Bearcats suddenly couldn’t find a way to put the ball in the basket.

Syracuse got points from just two players off of their bench, but it was more than enough. Kris Joseph scored 17 points while Scoop Jardine added 11.

Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 5:58 pm by steve

Orange Start Hot, Hold Off Huskies 72-67

The Syracuse Orange have forged the reputation of starting slow, then coming back and barraging a team with high-pressure zone defense and their explosive offense.

Against UConn on Wednesday, the tables were turned, but the result was no different, as the Orange rung up their 24th win in 25 games, beating the Jim Calhoun-less Huskies 72-67.

The last time these two teams met, it was in Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament, where they played the longest game in Big East history before Syracuse finally beat UConn in six overtimes.

“We dealt with six overtimes. That’s history,” Syracuse forward Joseph said, smiling. “We did it once. We don’t want to do it again. We just wanted to win the game in regulation and we did a great job of closing it out.”

“They’re a great team. We knew they were going to battle back,” Joseph said. “We were up double digits with 10 minutes left. The game wasn’t over at that point and we all knew that. We had to keep battling. When it was a tie game, all we had to do was stay poised.”

Syracuse came out firing, opening a huge lead on UConn, but they tied the game back up in the final minutes.

That’s when controversy started. Tied at 65 with 36 seconds left, the officials credited Cuse’s Jim Boeheim with a timeout while Scoop Jardine was in the air on the way to the basket. (Jardine missed the shot and UConn rebounded it.) Instead of the ball being UConn’s with half a minute left, ‘Cuse retained possession and went on to win.

Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 10:18 pm by bryan

Syracuse downs Georgetown, 73-56

The No. 4 Syracuse Orange rallied back from a 14-point deficit for a 73-56 win over the No. 7 Georgetown Hoyas.

The Orange began the game by falling behind 14-0 to the Hoyas, silencing a stunned Carrier Dome.

Syracuse quickly rallied back and took the lead by halftime, and the game was never really close after the opening minutes of the second half.

Head coach Jim Boeheim said that he can’t ever remember his team getting off to such a rough start.

The win was the 819th of Boeheim’s career, which allows him to pass Jim Calhoun and move into sixth place on the all-time list.

Friday, January 29, 2010 at 5:00 pm by steve

Syracuse knocks off Florida, 85-73

The Syracuse Orange knocked off the Florida Gators, 85-73 at the St. Pete Times Forum to keep their undefeated season in tact.

The Orange lost the lead at one point in the second half but continuously turned back Gator runs.

That means that the Orange have now beaten three teams ranked in the top 12 already this year.

After losing so many players from last year’s team, panic had set in around the Carrier Dome about the fate of the 2009 squad.

From the looks of it, head coach Jim Boeheim might actually have a better team this year than last.

Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 9:15 am by steve

Syracuse runs away from Cornell, 88-73

The No. 9 Syracuse Orange eventually put away the pesky Cornell Big Red, 88-73.

The Orange took just a six-point lead into halftime but were eventually able to put some distance between themselves and the Ivy League school.

Guard Brandon Triche led the team with 21 points while backcourt mate Andy Rautins added 18.

Wesley Johnson played 38 minutes and scored 15 points to go with 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Despite all the players they lost in the offseason, the Orange have gotten off to a strong start this year.

Friday, November 27, 2009 at 11:17 am by steve