He was right. Even though the Big East placed eight schools, the most in the tournament, Syracuse (19-13) was left out for the second straight year.
“We really had to have a perfect scenario,” Boeheim said. “We had to beat Georgetown earlier (in the year) and Pittsburgh. Then we would have had a chance, a good chance, to be in the tournament.
“We won a lot of close games, but we lost those two, and that's probably the difference. If we won 21 games this year like we did last year, our strength of schedule is better, so it would have helped us. But that's just the way it is.”
Instead, the Orange were installed Sunday night as a top seed in the NIT against Robert Morris (26-7) at home on Tuesday night.
Syracuse was a second seed in the NIT a year ago and lost at Clemson in the quarterfinals.
Boeheim has led Syracuse to 25 NCAA appearanced in his 32-year tenure.
This will be only the second time the Orange have gone to the NIT in consecutive years (1981 and 1982 was the other) since he took over in 1976. The 82-63 loss to the Wildcats was the killer blow - Villanova (20-12) made the field as a 12th seed in the Midwest. Saint Joseph's of the Atlantic 10, whom the Orange defeated 72-69 in the second game of the season, also was selected despite losing in the conference championship game to Temple.
Meanwhile, Ivy League champion Cornell (22-5), making its first appearance in the tournament in 20 years, was tabbed the 14th seed in the South. The Big Red, who have won 16 straight, eight of them on the road, will face third-seeded Stanford (26-7) in the opening round on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.
“We knew we were going to play not close to home, and we certainly got that,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue said, “It's a great school with similar academic issues. We have a lot of alumni out there, so I'm excited.”
“There was a lot of excitement when we saw our name,” said sophomore forward Ryan Wittman, the Big Red's leading scorer. “We've just got to go into the week working hard again, keep playing well, hopefully.”
The young Orange, with five freshmen on the roster, have only themselves to blame. Although they had to play through season-ending knee injuries to guards Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf, the defection of guard Josh Wright, the lone senior on the team, and an off-campus problem involving freshman guard Scoop Jardine, Syracuse lost three conference games it easily could have won: 64-62 in overtime at Georgetown; 63-61 at home to Connecticut; and 82-77 at home to Pittsburgh after squandering an 11-point lead in the final 3.5 minutes.
Syracuse has an RPI of 55, was 3-8 against top 50 teams, and a schedule rated the eighth-toughest in the nation. Contrast that to Oregon with an RPI of 58, a 4-9 mark against the top 50, and a 9-3 record against a nonconference schedule rated 168th.
Not only did the Ducks (18-13) make the field of 65, they're seeded ninth in the South.
“The disappointment that coaches and players have is what makes this tournament so special,” said Donahue, whose Big Red lost 80-64 at Syracuse in December.
“The amount of attention of getting in and not getting in, and all the talk just adds to the excitement. You hate to see people left off.”
On TV
• Robert Morris at Syracuse, 8 p.m., Tuesday, ESPNU
Blog on it
Orange fans, be sure to check out the Orange Slices blog at auburnpub.com/blogs for lively commentary on the SU athletics scene.
“We won a lot of close games, but we lost those two, and that's probably the difference. If we won 21 games this year like we did last year, our strength of schedule is better, so it would have helped us. But that's just the way it is.”
Instead, the Orange were installed Sunday night as a top seed in the NIT against Robert Morris (26-7) at home on Tuesday night.
Syracuse was a second seed in the NIT a year ago and lost at Clemson in the quarterfinals.
Boeheim has led Syracuse to 25 NCAA appearanced in his 32-year tenure.
This will be only the second time the Orange have gone to the NIT in consecutive years (1981 and 1982 was the other) since he took over in 1976. The 82-63 loss to the Wildcats was the killer blow - Villanova (20-12) made the field as a 12th seed in the Midwest. Saint Joseph's of the Atlantic 10, whom the Orange defeated 72-69 in the second game of the season, also was selected despite losing in the conference championship game to Temple.
Meanwhile, Ivy League champion Cornell (22-5), making its first appearance in the tournament in 20 years, was tabbed the 14th seed in the South. The Big Red, who have won 16 straight, eight of them on the road, will face third-seeded Stanford (26-7) in the opening round on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.
“We knew we were going to play not close to home, and we certainly got that,” Cornell coach Steve Donahue said, “It's a great school with similar academic issues. We have a lot of alumni out there, so I'm excited.”
“There was a lot of excitement when we saw our name,” said sophomore forward Ryan Wittman, the Big Red's leading scorer. “We've just got to go into the week working hard again, keep playing well, hopefully.”
The young Orange, with five freshmen on the roster, have only themselves to blame. Although they had to play through season-ending knee injuries to guards Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf, the defection of guard Josh Wright, the lone senior on the team, and an off-campus problem involving freshman guard Scoop Jardine, Syracuse lost three conference games it easily could have won: 64-62 in overtime at Georgetown; 63-61 at home to Connecticut; and 82-77 at home to Pittsburgh after squandering an 11-point lead in the final 3.5 minutes.
Syracuse has an RPI of 55, was 3-8 against top 50 teams, and a schedule rated the eighth-toughest in the nation. Contrast that to Oregon with an RPI of 58, a 4-9 mark against the top 50, and a 9-3 record against a nonconference schedule rated 168th.
Not only did the Ducks (18-13) make the field of 65, they're seeded ninth in the South.
“The disappointment that coaches and players have is what makes this tournament so special,” said Donahue, whose Big Red lost 80-64 at Syracuse in December.
“The amount of attention of getting in and not getting in, and all the talk just adds to the excitement. You hate to see people left off.”
On TV
• Robert Morris at Syracuse, 8 p.m., Tuesday, ESPNU
Blog on it
Orange fans, be sure to check out the Orange Slices blog at auburnpub.com/blogs for lively commentary on the SU athletics scene.
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