NEW YORK – Minutes after his Syracuse team lost to Louisville, 76-66, in the Big East tournament final, Jim Boeheim started prophesying.

‘There’s going to be two things people remember about this Syracuse basketball season, two and only two,’ Boeheim said. ‘They’re going to remember the Connecticut-Syracuse game here, and they’re going to remember what we do in the tournament. That’s all they’ll remember.’

Nothing will erase the memories of the Orange’s thrilling six-overtime win over Connecticut Thursday. But Boeheim knows that what’s coming next, the NCAA Tournament, is the only thing that could provide a similar lasting impression on SU fans.

So after the Orange had finished its improbable run to the conference tournament finals, much of the talk had shifted to what’s next. The brackets will be announced Sunday night on TV, where the Orange will see its name unveiled for the first time since 2006. SU missed the last two NCAA Tournaments, the first time that has happened in 25 years.

‘Ever since I’ve been here, I think I’ve watched (the selection show), and ‘Cuse never got called since I’ve been here,’ junior forward Paul Harris said. ‘Finally it’s going to happen, that’ll be a great thing.’

Near the middle of the season, it appeared that streak could stretch to three seasons. Syracuse sat at 7-7 in the conference, and chatter of missing the Tournament started once again.

But the Orange quashed that by going on a seven-game win streak that ended Saturday night, bringing its overall record to 26-9 and giving the Orange a boost of confidence going into the climax of its season.

‘I think we have to just look at the big picture,’ SU forward Kristof Ongenaet said. ‘Although we lost, it’s not a happy feeling, but the bigger thing is the NCAA Tournament, and that’s what it’s all about.’

The last two times Syracuse went to the NCAA Tournament, in 2005 and 2006, it was after winning the Big East tournament title. Both times, the Orange lost in the first round. In 2006, the Orange became the first team to win the conference tournament by winning four games in four days. In the Orange’s next game five days later, leading scorer Gerry McNamara was hampered by injury, and scored only two points as Syracuse lost to Texas A&M.

Syracuse also played four games in four days this season. Leading scorer Jonny Flynn played 181 minutes during that stretch and was visibly tired by the end. But Boeheim brushed off the suggestion that 2009 could produce a similar result to 2006, and said his team will be back to 100 percent by Tuesday.

‘I think the last two times we won, we really were riding a couple guys, especially last time. Gerry had nothing left the next week,’ Boeheim said. ‘That’s not the case this time. We’ll be ready to go in a couple days.’

Instead of being a hindrance, Boeheim sees his team’s experience in the Big East tournament as a positive going forward. In SU’s last four games, it played two top-5 teams, No. 3 Connecticut and No. 5 Louisville. SU beat the Huskies, and held an 8-point lead at halftime over the Cardinals before falling apart in the second half. After Saturday’s game, Boeheim predicted that both will be No. 1 seeds in the tournament, along with fellow Big East team Pittsburgh.

‘We’ve now been through as tough a three games we’re going to get the next three games we play, these last three games,’ Boeheim said. ‘Nothing tougher. So it should help us. That’s the way I look at it.’

Even a beleaguered Flynn – who took home the tournament MVP award but said it couldn’t compare to a tournament championship trophy – found consolation in the fact that his team played with the best in the country.

‘It really gives us confidence boost as a team,’ Flynn said. ‘I think despite the loss, you know, I hate losing more than anybody in this world, but I think you can take a lot of good out of this.’

kbaustin@syr.edu

Published on March 15, 2009 at 12:00 pm