1995–96 Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 15
Record29–9 (12–6 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCarrier Dome
1995–96 Big East men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Big East 6
No. 3 Connecticut171 .944323  .914
No. 10 Villanova144 .778267  .788
Boston College108 .5561911  .633
West Virginia711 .3891215  .444
St. John's513 .2781116  .407
Notre Dame414 .222918  .333
Big East 7
No. 4 Georgetown135 .722298  .784
No. 15 Syracuse126 .667299  .763
Providence99 .5001812  .600
Miami810 .4441513  .536
Seton Hall711 .3891216  .429
Rutgers612 .333918  .333
Pittsburgh513 .2781017  .370
1996 Big East tournament winner
As of April 1, 1996[1][2][3]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1995–96 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University as a member of the Big East Conference. The head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 20th year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 29–9 (12–6) record, while making it to the Championship Game of the NCAA tournament.

The team was led by seniors John Wallace and Lazarus Sims. Fellow senior J.B. Reafsnyder, juniors Jason Cipolla and Otis Hill, sophomore Todd Burgan and Marius Janulis played key roles. Walk-on and future NFL star Donovan McNabb also appeared in five games.

Season recap

Syracuse was aided by the return of John Wallace, who had declared for the NBA draft, but chose to withdraw his early entry. Wallace would lead Syracuse in scoring for 30-of-38 games, leading Syracuse to an early 11–0 record.

With the Orangemen hitting a bump in mid-season losing five of eight Big East games, Boeheim chose to insert Jason Cipolla into the starting lineup in favor of Marius Janulis. The move worked as Syracuse would go 8–1 to finish the regular season with a record of 22–7. Syracuse would advance to the Big East tournament semifinals, where it was knocked off by Connecticut, 85–67.[4]

Syracuse was named a No. 4 seed for the tournament, and played one of its most memorable games in the Sweet 16 against Georgia. Cipolla hit a jumper as time expired in regulation to send the game to overtime, and John Wallace sealed the victory with a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining to propel Syracuse to an 83–81 win.[5] Wallace finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds in that game.

Syracuse would knock off the Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Jacque Vaughn-led Kansas in the Elite 8, and Erick Dampier and the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the national semifinal game.[6] This set up a matchup between Jim Boeheim and former assistant Rick Pitino, who was now head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats in the National Championship game.

Syracuse, a heavy underdog, nearly overcame a 13-point second-half deficit, closing to within 2, but Kentucky held on for a 76–67 victory. Kentucky featured a deep team, including future NBA players Derek Anderson, Antoine Walker, Tony Delk and Ron Mercer.[7]

Roster

  • John Wallace (22.2 points, 8.7 rebounds)
  • Jason Cipolla (7.7 points, 2.0 rebounds)
  • Lazarus Sims (6.3 points, 7.4 assists)
  • Todd Burgan (12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds)
  • Otis Hill (12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds)
  • Marius Janulis (6.1 points, 2.1 rebounds)
  • J. B. Reafsnyder (5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds)

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 25, 1995*
Lafayette W 87–63  1–0
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Nov 28, 1995*
Colgate W 89–55  2–0
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Dec 3, 1995
at Providence W 82–78  3–0
(1–0)
Dunkin' Donuts Center 
Providence, Rhode Island
Dec 5, 1995
St. John's W 97–72  4–0
(2–0)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Dec 8, 1995*
Columbia W 83–60  5–0
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Dec 9, 1995*
Washington State W 77–75  6–0
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Dec 13, 1995*
No. 25 Bowling Green State W 75–64  7–0
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Dec 16, 1995*
No. 25 College of Charleston W 72–61  8–0
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Dec 23, 1995*
No. 19 at No. 3 Arizona W 79–70  9–0
McKale Center 
Tucson, Arizona
Dec 27, 1995*
No. 13 vs. No. 12 Illinois
Rainbow Classic
W 75–64  10–0
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 28, 1995*
No. 13 vs. Rhode Island
Rainbow Classic
W 92–66  11–0
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 29, 1995*
No. 13 vs. No. 1 UMass
Rainbow Classic
L 47–65  11–1
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 3, 1996
No. 11 at Miami (FL) L 66–75  11–2
(2–1)
Miami Arena 
Miami, Florida
Jan 10, 1996
No. 14 Providence W 77–75  12–2
(3–1)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Jan 14, 1996
No. 14 Rutgers W 81–80  13–2
(4–1)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Jan 16, 1996
No. 12 at West Virginia L 78–90  13–3
(4–2)
WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, West Virginia
Jan 21, 1996
No. 12 at No. 5 Connecticut L 70–79  13–4
(4–3)
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 
Storrs, Connecticut
Jan 24, 1996
No. 17 at No. 6 Georgetown L 64–83  13–5
(4–4)
Capital Centre 
Washington, D.C.
Jan 27, 1996
No. 17 No. 20 Boston College W 88–73  14–5
(5–4)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Jan 29, 1996*
No. 18 No. 6 Villanova L 69–72 OT 14–6
(5–5)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Feb 1, 1996*
No. 18 Miami (FL) W 72–51  15–6
(6–5)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Feb 4, 1996*
No. 18 Alabama W 81–68  16–6
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Feb 7, 1996
No. 18 at Pittsburgh W 73–67  17–6
(7–5)
Fitzgerald Fieldhouse 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 10, 1996*
No. 18 No. 8 Georgetown W 85–64  18–6
(8–5)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Feb 12, 1996
No. 16 at Rutgers W 63–54  19–6
(9–5)
Louis Brown Athletic Center 
Piscataway, New Jersey
Feb 20, 1996
No. 15 at Seton Hall L 79–80  19–7
(9–6)
Continental Airlines Arena 
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Feb 24, 1996
No. 15 Pittsburgh W 77–60  20–7
(10–6)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Feb 26, 1996
No. 15 at St. John's W 92–79  21–7
(11–6)
Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Mar 2, 1996
No. 15 Notre Dame W 71–67  22–7
(12–6)
Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Big East tournament
Mar 6, 1996*
No. 13 vs. Notre Dame
First round
W 76–55  23–7
Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Mar 7, 1996*
No. 13 vs. Boston College
Quarterfinals
W 69–61  24–7
Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Mar 8, 1996*
No. 13 vs. No. 3 Connecticut
Semifinals
L 67–85  24–8
Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1996*
(4 W) No. 15 vs. (13 W) Montana State
First round
W 88–55  25–8
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 16, 1996*
(4 W) No. 15 vs. (12 W) Drexel
Second Round
W 69–58  26–8
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 22, 1996*
(4 W) No. 15 vs. (8 W) Georgia
West Regional semifinal Sweet Sixteen
W 83–81 OT 27–8
McNichols Sports Arena 
Denver, Colorado
Mar 24, 1996*
(4 W) No. 15 vs. (2 W) No. 4 Kansas
West Regional Final Elite Eight
W 60–57  28–8
McNichols Sports Arena 
Denver, Colorado
Mar 30, 1996*
(4 W) No. 15 vs. (5 SE) No. 19 Mississippi State
National semifinal Final Four
W 77–69  29–8
Continental Airlines Arena 
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Apr 1, 1996*
(4 W) No. 15 vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Kentucky
National Championship Game
L 67–76  29–9
Continental Airlines Arena 
East Rutherford, New Jersey
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
AP2519131114121718181615151315Not released
Coaches221412141213161816161413143

[8]

References

  1. sports-reference.com 1995-96 Big East Conference Season Summary
  2. Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.
  3. "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.
  4. BASKETBALL;A Battle of the Big East's Best: It's UConn vs. Georgetown – New York Times
  5. N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT: WEST;Syracuse Hits the Shot; Arizona Doesn't – New York Times
  6. Washingtonpost.com: Syracuse's Defense Tops 'Dogs, 77–69
  7. BASKETBALL;Relentless Kentucky Captures Championship – New York Times
    • ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1042–1043. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
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