With Syracuse (19-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) set to face Dayton (25-7, 14-4 Atlantic 10) on Friday at 12:15 p.m., check out whether you remember some of Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament history.

 Do you remember the last time Syracuse played in the 7-10 matchup?

Both times Syracuse has played in a game between the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds, it was the No. 7 seed. In 1995, Syracuse beat 10th-seeded Southern Illinois, 96-92. That season, Lawrence Moten scored 19.6 points per game and John Wallace scored 16.8. Wallace led the team with 8.2 rebounds per game. That team went 20-10 overall and finished 12-6 in Big East play.

The Orange went on to lose in overtime to No. 2 seed Arkansas, 96-94, in the next round. SU played those games in Austin, Texas and were in the Midwest region, which was hosted by Kansas City, Missouri. Arkansas went to the NCAA championship game, which it lost 89-78 to UCLA.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse played a No. 7 seed?

Five years before Syracuse played No. 10 seed Southern Illinois in 1995, the Orange faced No. 7 seed Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Then the No. 2 seed in the Southeast regional, SU crushed 15th-seeded Coppin State, then slipped past UVA, 63-61, in the next round.

That team also used a seven-man rotation and only five SU players scored against Virginia. Syracuse’s Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens combined for 35 points and 18 rebounds. Virginia’s Bryant Stith scored 30 points against the Orange. Syracuse lost in the next round to sixth-seeded Minnesota.

SU is 1-1 against No. 7 seeds, having lost to Navy in the 1986 NCAA Tournament, when the Orange was pegged as a No. 2 seed.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• Dougherty: 1 of Syracuse’s defining characteristics will no longer be enough
• Syracuse basketball roundtable: Dayton rematch, what SU needs to do to win and Trevor Cooney’s legacy
• Beat writers predict mixed outcomes for Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament matchup with Dayton 
• 2016 NCAA Tournament: Play The Daily Orange’s bracket challenge

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Do you remember the last time Syracuse played an NCAA Tournament game in St. Louis?

I sure hope not. Syracuse has never played an NCAA Tournament game in St. Louis.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse was named a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament?

Second verse, same as the first. SU’s never been a No. 10 seed or a double-digit seeded team, for that matter. There’s a first time for everything.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse played in the Midwest region?

Syracuse last played in the Midwest region back in 2001. The fifth-seeded Orange beat 12th seeded Hawaii, 79-69, but were drubbed in the Round of 32 by fourth-seeded Kansas. Check out all of SU’s results from when it has played in the Midwest since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985:

2001 (San Antonio, Texas)
First Round — No. 5 SU beats No. 12 Hawaii, 79-69
Second Round — No. 4 Kansas beats No. 5 SU, 87-58

2000 (Auburn Hills, Michigan)
First Round — No. 4 SU beats No. 13 Samford, 79-65
Second Round — No. 4 SU beats No. 5 Kentucky, 52-50
Sweet 16 — No. 1 Michigan State beats No. 4 SU, 75-58

1995 (Kansas City, Missouri)
First Round — No. 7 SU beats No. 10 Southern Illinois, 96-92
Second Round — No. 2 Arkansas beats No. 7 SU, 96-94

1989 (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
First Round — No. 2 SU beats No. 15 Bucknell, 104-81
Second Round — No. 2 SU beats No. 10 Colorado State, 65-50
Sweet 16 — No. 2 SU beats No. 3 Missouri, 83-80
Elite 8 — No. 1 Illinois beats No. 2 SU, 89-86

Do you remember the last time Jim Boeheim and Tom Izzo were placed in the same region?

That would be 2005, also the same year T.J. Sorrentine went Steph Curry on the Orange and splashed a 3 “from the parking lot,” in the words of Gus Johnson, to sink the dagger in Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament appearance. Boeheim and Izzo never got a chance to face off and Michigan State rolled all the way to the Final Four, where the Spartans lost to North Carolina.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse was placed in the same bracket with a No. 1 seed from its conference?

You’d have to go back to 1985, the first time the tournament expanded to 64 teams. Syracuse was the No. 7 seed in the East bracket while Georgetown was tabbed as the No. 1 seed. The Orange beat future Big East foe DePaul in the first round of that tournament, but No. 2 seed Georgia Tech beat SU, 70-53.

 

Published on March 16, 2016 at 2:52 pm

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati