Former Syracuse Orange Wesley Johnson goes to the Minnesota Timberwolves as the No. 4 pick, while teammate Andy Rautins heads to the New York Knicks.
Syracuse knew it had a superstar on its hands, and the rest of the country noticed. Wes Johnson was the No. 4 pick last night for the Minnesota Timberwolves, as two of Syracuse Orange's finest were drafted into the NBA, onto bigger and better careers.
Top-seeded Syracuse shook off naysayers and upset watchers, dominating No. 16 seed Catamounts, 79-56.
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is a new start for 65 teams. Teams get a coveted bid, push the re-set button, and go about making adjustments.
The top seeds usually need little adjustment, but Syracuse’s first No. 1 seed in 30 years came with strings attached. After winning 28 games and the Big East regular season title, Orange head coach Jim Boeheim had a to-do list that include: insert a new rotation, weather the team’s longest layoff in four months, and exorcise the Vermont demons from 2005.
Seniors Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins play final game in Carrier Dome, first as nation’s No. 1 team.
Fifth-year seniors Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins stepped onto the Carrier Dome floor for the last time of their college careers, yet the night was as much about firsts as finales.
Onuaku and Rautins strutted onto Jim Boeheim Court for the first time as members of the number one team in the country. And it was their first time walking off as outright Big East regular season champions.
It's not time for March Madness quite yet but last Thursday night in D.C., Cuse fans were definitely ready for the Big Dance. (A fan experience story)
Before leaving for the Georgetown game last Thursday, I turned to my father’s Facebook page for last minute inspiration. His profile picture was a Syracuse fan holding a sign that reads: “I’ve hated Georgetown since I was a little kid.” My dad raised me to appreciate and agree with that statement. (His new profile picture is of me holding a “YOUR MOM IS A HO-YA” sign at the game.) Ready to go, I was fully dressed in Syracuse attire, orange pom-pom in hand, and decked out in my “Go Cuse,” orange and blue Nike sneakers, which I had previously only worn to games at the Dome.
It was an offensive battle against the Friars on Tuesday night, but the Orange defense came out on top.
Led by Rick Jackson and Andy Rautins in a rallying, offensive shootout against Providence on Tuesday night, the No. 4 Syracuse Orange shut it down in a 99-85 win. Both players scored 28-points, a season-high for Rautins and a new career-high for Jackson.
The Orange recovered from an eight-point deficit to beat the feisty Friars and reach their highest point total in the Big East this season. The win also earned them a double-bye into the quarterfinals of the upcoming Big East tournament.
After giving up a 16-point second half lead, the Orange buckled down to hang onto its lead and end with a victory against arch-rival UConn.
With the No. 2 national ranking on the line and the extra anticipation of its first meeting with Connecticut since last year's historic six overtime game at Madison Square Garden, Syracuse found a way to fend off its Big East rival yet again in Wednesday's 72-67 nail-biter win at the Carrier Dome.
Rick Jackson led Syracuse with 15 points, while Kris Joseph and Wes Johnson had 14 and 13 respectively. Joseph and Johnson combined to make six straight free throws in the final 33 seconds to help seal the win for the Orange.
The high-flying Syracuse men’s basketball team held off Marquette, 76-71, in Big East action Saturday afternoon, giving returning students a taste of success to come.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away –Job 1:21
For the second consecutive Saturday, No. 5 Syracuse let a Big East opponent believe that a miracle comeback was about to occur. It was West Virginia last weekend, and this afternoon the hopeful wore “Marquette” on their jerseys.
Holding a 17-point lead with 3:45 remaining and fans buttoning up their winter coats, the Orange started to make mistakes that led to three-pointers for the Eagles. Marquette got within four points, 75-71, after a Maurice Acker triple with 10 seconds left.
Syracuse completes a perfect road trip with an 84-71 victory over the Irish in South Bend.
Coming off an emotional win against No. 9 West Virginia, the Orange showed no signs of a letdown when they took on Notre Dame Monday night. Wesley Johnson scored 22 points while Andy Rautins poured in 21 as Syracuse completed a perfect road trip with an 84-71 victory over the Irish in South Bend.
Syracuse guard Andy Rautins scored a season-high 23 points with nine assists in the 81-65 win at Rutgers Wednesday night. Rautins is the Honda Odyssey in fifth-ranked Orange’s crowded stable of victory vehicles.
Orange head coach Jim Boeheim has a basketball vehicle for every game he drives through. The veteran Big East coach knows every contest has a different course layout, an alternate track to navigate.
Some nights the road lays straight and wide, like an expressway. Boeheim moves the score with a large mass, either his A & O dump truck or his big Rig Jackson.
In Piscataway, New Jersey, site of Rutgers University, residents drive through life, one stoplight at a time.