Where's the response from K-State?
What's the saying, "nice guys finish last".
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Orange crush: Syracuse not selected for NCAA tournament
March 11, 2007
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- It's been four years since Jim Boeheim led Syracuse to its lone national championship. On Sunday night, it seemed like a lifetime ago for the Hall of Fame head coach.
The Orange were not selected to play in the NCAA tournament -- and Boeheim was stunned.
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And so was his athletic director.
"To say that I'm shocked would be an understatement. I was waiting for another bracket to come up," said Syracuse AD Daryl Gross, who planned to begin making calls to find out why Syracuse was bypassed. "I think it's the shock of the country."
It was the first time Syracuse (22-10) failed to make the NCAA tournament since the 2001-02 team finished 23-13 overall and 9-7 in the Big East. And it's only the sixth time in Boeheim's 31-year career at his alma mater that his team wasn't selected.
"I have no way of understanding why we're not in the tournament. You look at the numbers and it's hard to believe. But it's done. There's no use in talking about it," Boeheim said calmly after addressing the team. "Their opinion is that those teams are better than us. I'm very disappointed. It doesn't do any good to get angry."
Despite exuding confidence after Syracuse snapped No. 9 Georgetown's 11-game winning streak two weeks ago and finished the regular season winning five of its final six games, Boeheim said he was nervous when the selection show began. The 16-team Big East landed only six squads in the tournament after getting eight in a year ago.
"I'm always worried," Boeheim said. "I was worried all weekend. It's happened to us before. The players and coaches are tremendously disappointed. We were 7-3 in our last 10 games. We felt that would be enough.
"I would imagine we're one of the few, if not the only team ever in a BCS conference with a 10-win season that did not get in the NCAA tournament. I don't know what the thought process is. What's done is done. There's not much I can do about it."
After struggling through a midseason slump, Syracuse played its best basketball of the season in February, going 6-1, and also has a 5-5 record against the field of 65 teams selected to play in the NCAA tournament.
The wins: 72-58 over Big East champion Georgetown; 75-64 over Villanova; 70-58 at No. 18 Marquette; 72-64 over Holy Cross; and 78-60 over Penn. The losses: 74-66 to No. 13 Pittsburgh; 76-71 at No. 12 Louisville after blowing a 14-point second-half lead; 78-75 at Villanova; and twice to No. 20 Notre Dame, 103-91 at home and 89-83 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.
Good numbers. Not good enough this time.
"To say that I'm shocked would be an understatement. I was waiting for another bracket to come up," said Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross, who planned to begin making calls to find out why Syracuse was bypassed. "I think it's the shock of the country."
That certainly seemed to be the overwhelming sentiment.
"I'm amazed Syracuse didn't get in," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said without being asked after his Spartans were selected as the ninth seed in the East Region with a first-round matchup against eighth-seeded Marquette.
Syracuse finished the season tied with Marquette for fifth in the Big East at 10-6 and beat Connecticut in the first round of the Big East tournament before falling to the Irish.
"We had four league road wins and beat the best team in the conference by 14 points late in the year," Boeheim said. "You look at our overall season, and it was better than some in the tournament."
Boeheim has long been criticized for the Orange's non-conference schedule, which this season also included wins over Colgate, St. Bonaventure, Baylor, Hofstra, Holy Cross, Canisius, Northeastern, UTEP, and St. Francis of New York. Syracuse did schedule difficult opponents in December in Drexel and Wichita State, and the Orange lost both games at home.
"I don't think that has anything to do with it. We've been doing that for 31 years," Boeheim said of the non-conference schedule. "Obviously, the committee thinks that Arkansas, lllinois and Texas Tech are better than us. If 10-6 in the Big East isn't good enough to get in, then I don't think we should be in the Big East."
Now, the Orange, who suffered first-round losses in their previous two NCAA tournament appearances, have to get ready to play South Alabama (20-11) in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night in the NIT. It won't be an easy adjustment.
"It will be very difficult for them to get geared up," Boeheim said. "The players are disappointed."
