Knee Deep in the Hoops-lah

This is a team people like watching,” said Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim after his team’s resounding 95-77 rout of then-No. 7 Villanova on Feb. 27. Judging by the fact that 34,616 people showed up to the Carrier Dome to help set the record for the largest on-campus crowd in the history of college basketball, the Orange floor general might have understated the obvious. It’s not unfathomable that if the university brass hadn’t waited until a week before the game to ponder what could have been had they moved the court to the center of the Dome, there easily could have been more than 50,000 people revolving the turnstiles.

With tip-off slated for 9 p.m., driving to the Dome at 6:30 p.m. rewarded no traffic at all and parking was a breeze. Several 11th-hour travelers reported traffic jam discontent. More than two hours before tip-off and the parking lots half full, tailgating was unexpectedly sparse for this historic contest. Surely, all of these cars couldn’t have been the extra gaggle of media geeks sent from far and wide to report on the game. But at first sight walking through the press tunnel into the arena, the lack of parking lot partiers was explained by the deep Orange sea of revelers already chanting rally cries, drunk off anticipation and libations with some getting thrown out by security well before the action commenced. As this reporter was walking in, some huge fat guy wearing an Orange football jersey (No. 81) was the first of a handful to be ejected.

Zoning in: Syracuse University’s fabled zone defense created strategic nightmares for Villanova.

 

At least 15,000 people appeared to have already permeated the Dome’s deep inner space. Bill Adams, an usher in the 300 section, arrived at 5:30 p.m. “There was about the same amount of people here when I got here, being just as wild,” he observed, looking down on the madness in the student section. From that upper-level vantage point, it was now obvious where most people had congregated. The vacant half of the football field, much like it is during gridiron play, bustled elbow-to-elbow with people attacking the beer stand and loitering on the turf, many finishing the drinks they had just purchased moments before waiting in line to refuel. “Gotta make this one count,” “Beat those Nova bastards!” and “God, I’m drunk,” were commonly heard.

All that consumption loaded the verbal ammunition fired at the unfairly outnumbered fandom soldiers brave enough to wear Villanova colors to this game. No matter which direction you walked, collectives of Orange fans discharged bandoliers of boos, you-sucks, and other cheap insults at these half-grinning, half-nervous bravehearts. 

A middle-aged couple adorned in ’Nova blue, Bob and Wendy Lewinson from Norristown, Pa., near Philadelphia, where the Villanova campus is located, found refuge in the bleachers on the vacant side of the Dome, drinking a beer and sharing a box of popcorn. “We’ve heard it all,” said the male Lewinson. “We expected a little of that, but it’s been a little more than we can handle and thought we’d relax here until game time. But we couldn’t miss this one.” 

Eventually, revelry time ran out and the game was about to start. For much of the first half, the action swung back and forth, both teams exchanging leads, with Villanova being spurred by their Big East Player of the Year candidate Scottie Reynolds, who was raining 3s and stifling the Orange frontcourt with in-your-face defense. If it wasn’t for him, Villanova would have been out-hustled and out-muscled, like they were in the second half as the Orange built a lead as high as 21 points at one point. Reynolds seemed to peter out from carrying the load in the late going and he finished with 16 points including four 3-pointers, three in the first half, as well as three assists and three steals. “He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with at the next level,” said Orange guard Scoop Jardine after the game, a Philadelphia native who’s known of Reynolds since their scholastic days.

A talking point that many sports pundits laud Villanova for is their depth, with head coach and potential Hair Club for Men spokesman Jay Wright sometimes sporting a rotation 11 players deep (he used 10 against SU). But that doesn’t mean that three or four of those guys suck and should be left to splinter on the pine. Villanova has two impressive wins this season, one over then-ranked No. 11 Georgetown on Jan. 17, and another on the road against then-ranked No. 6 West Virginia on Feb. 8. But in their five losses, including this one, it appears their constant subbing sucks rhythm from the team, and doesn’t necessarily pose any matchup and adjustment problems for their opponents. The team would probably be better if Wright shortened the rotation.

Speaking to Jardine, as well as Orange forward and Big East and National Player of the Year candidate Wes Johnson and center Arinze Onuaku after the game about Villanova’s merry-go-round rotation, they all concurred it didn’t blur their focus one bit. “We all displayed patience when they’d sub and just played the zone like we always would,” said Johnson. “Maybe teams that play more one-on-one defense might have more trouble with that system, but we just stayed focus and played our game.”

Those three also concurred that they wouldn’t care if SU were No. 1 when the polls came out on March 1, but the smiles on their faces told another story. The stars were aligned for that to be the case, as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, Kansas and Kentucky, respectively, had both lost earlier in the day, and the No. 3 team, Purdue, had just lost star forward Robbie Hummel for the season with a knee injury earlier in the week and had a tough matchup, losing against No. 14 Michigan State the next day.

When the rankings finally came out, Syracuse, now 27-2 overall and 14-2 in the Big East, finally got the No. 1 spot in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, their first since a six-week stretch during the 1989-1990 season. Ironically, two stars from that team, Billy Owens and the main man, Derrick Coleman, were sitting courtside—along with former SU standouts Lawrence Moten, Todd Burgan and John Wallace. Coleman, who played for a time with the Detroit Pistons, was the first to rush the court after the final buzzer, and planted a kiss on the cheek of forward Kris Joseph while also embracing Jardine in celebratory bliss.

“I don’t care,” said Boeheim, in typical Boeheim fashion, about the prospect of being ranked No. 1 after the ’Nova win. “If it were football I’d be happy, because all we’d have to do is hold on for a couple more games and we’d be in the National Championship. It doesn’t matter at all where you’re ranked in our game. The only thing anyone will remember is how our guys finish in the {NCAA} Tournament.” 

But unlike the inequitable Bowl Championship Series arrangement in college football, the Orange, who clinched at least a share of the conference title, must prove their worth first by running through the Big East Tournament, which begins March 9 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. And then it’s on to the Big Dance. And not to evoke the fabled New Times jinx, this team could very well hoist another banner next to the 2003 championship flag.

—Tom Kahley

Orange grooves: In no particular order on the facing page, you will see ‘Nova guard Scottie Reynolds go 1-on-1 with Andy Rautins, the Dome Ranger’s heroic return, SU legend Derrick Coleman, ‘Nova coach Jay Wright staring down Arinze Onuaku, Jim Boeheim and the crew of ESPN’s College Gameday on set, Wes Johnson taking a victory walk, and the Dome and some of its more decorated fans.