I was bored last night. I was bored while watching the Syracuse-St. John's game. I admit it freely. Had it been just another regular season game I would have stopped watching mid-way through the 2nd half. The only thing that kept me around was the knowledge that two very important layers were going to get two very well-deserved moments of glory and I wanted to make sure I saw that. I owed them that for what they've done. Glad I did cause it was a fantastic moment in Syracuse basketball history, and for current fans, a moment that blended together so many things we never thought we'd see, or at least didn't expect to see anytime soon.
- Syracuse, the No. 1 team in the nation in March.
- The Orange dominating an opponent they should have with many detractors watching, hoping they'll slip up and "prove them right."
- Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku being honored legitimately for their leadership.
- Syracuse winning a Big East regular season title outright.
- Syracuse making its case as a lock on an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed
And so, the No. 1 Syracuse Orange defeated St. John's 85-66 and all was right with the world.
Onuaku grabbed eight boards to go along with his team-leading point total, Rautins drained four treys, Wesley Johnson added 13 points on an economical 10 shots and Kris Joseph got to the charity stripe 12 times as part of a 13- point, six-rebound performance. Scoop Jardine chipped in 10 points off the bench for the Orange (28-2, 15-2 Big East), who have won four straight, will hold the top seed in next week's conference tournament in New York and appear locked in as a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday.
Syracuse is the outright Big East regular-season champion. The team picked by many to finish no better than sixth in the conference before the season began won the whole thing. The team that was nowhere near the Top 25 in many folks preseason rankings was better than everyone else in the regular season.
"To win this league outright is a tremendous accomplishment," said Boeheim, whose Orange were picked sixth in the preseason conference poll and were not ranked. "They deserve to be called champions. They played like that all year long."
The season ain't over yet. We still need to exact a little revenge on Louisville this weekend. That game ultimately has no bearing on the Big East Tournament for us, though it will affect how we're ranked going into it. At this point though, it's a new season. We're no longer "the team that wasn't supposed to be good but is." From now on, we're the "team that thinks they're better than Kansas and Kentucky, well, we'll show them..."
But let's make sure we honor Andy and Arinze here. Let's watch those intros, shall we? (Great work by DOC Gross on the framed-jersey handoffs. He's a veteran of the process.)
Andy Rautins, Arinze Onuaku Illustrate What College Basketball Should Be...Jameson Fleming
Final bows: Rautins and Onuaku bid farewell to Carrier Dome with win over St. John's...Mike Waters
Syracuse improves to 28-2 and players take it all in stride...Donna Ditota
Is Andy Rautins the Big East player of the year? Jim Boeheim thinks he might be...Donna Ditota
Syracuse wins first outright Big East title since 1991; other notes from Orange win over St. John's...Mike Waters
Final bows: Rautins and Onuaku bid farewell to Carrier Dome with win over St. John's...Mike Waters
SU-St.John's Recap...Brent Axe
Senior Moments: Onuaku, Rautins shine as Syracuse defeats St. John's...Mike Waters
UNCONTESTED: Onuaku, Rautins shine on senior night as Orange clinches outright Big East title...Conor Orr, D.O.
With another strong performance off bench, Jardine no longer 'best-kept secret'...Tyler Dunne, D.O.
Rautins, Onuaku lead SU rout...Democrat & Chronicle
The Case For The Number-One Seed Overall...Orange Fizz
Syracuse Orange - Big East Champions...Three Idiots on Sports
| Syracuse beats St. John's |