Syracuse may have already locked up a bid to the NCAA Tournament this season with a run to the Big East tournament final, but the upperclassman couldn’t help but think back to 2007.

Two years ago, the Orange gathered at head coach Jim Boeheim’s house, like they did again Sunday night, to see its name pop across the screen. Sixty-five names were announced. Syracuse was not among them. This year, 60 schools had already seen their logos appear before SU’s came up. Even the last No. 4 seed had been announced – the spot many experts predicted Syracuse would land.

‘Man, it was like flashbacks,’ junior forward Paul Harris said. ”Man, are we going to get called? I know everybody said we’re going to get in, like what’s going on?’ They just saved some of the best teams for last, I just look at it like that.’

The 61st name released all the tension and anxiety built up over the past two years with back-to-back NIT bids.

The selection committee rewarded Syracuse with a No. 3 in the South region, its highest seed since 2003, when SU won its only national championship also as a three seed. It will face 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin Friday in Miami at 12:15 p.m.

‘It’s good to know that we’re in there,’ junior guard Eric Devendorf said. ‘It would have been impossible (to leave us out). They would have had to fire everyone on the selection committee. I knew it wasn’t going to be like my sophomore year at all.’

If Syracuse advances past the first round, it will play the winner of sixth-seeded Arizona State and 11th-seeded Temple. The top seed in the South is perennial powerhouse North Carolina. As for the Orange’s opponent on Friday, much of the team was too busy celebrating to even notice Stephen F. Austin’s name called, especially after the long wait.

‘Everybody was looking around the room entertaining the possibility that we might be left out, but certainly that wasn’t the case,’ junior shooting guard Andy Rautins said. ‘You saw everyone else’s reaction around the country and how everyone was excited but no one was anywhere near close to where we were. We went nuts, and the whole room went wild.’

The reaction came as the Orange ended a two-year hiatus away from March Madness – its longest span in 25 years. The last time the Orange made it to the NCAA Tournament was in 2006, when it was also coming off a historical run in the Big East tournament, but was bounced in the first round.

A beat-up SU squad lost to Texas A&M, 66-58. This time, the Orange opens up against the Southland Conference champion Lumberjacks, who are making their first appearance ever in the Tournament.

The Orange will be heading to the Dance for the 32nd time. ‘We’re so pleased to be back in the tournament,’ Boeheim said. ‘You don’t realize how much you missed the tournament until you actually miss it.’

Most of the Orange will be breaking in the feeling for the first time. Eric Devendorf is the only member on the team with experience in the Tournament. He played 26 minutes against the Aggies, scoring 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku were on that team but did not play. But this was Devendorf’s first time needing to see Syracuse’s logo on TV to know for sure the Orange was going to the Tourney. Unlike his first time in the Tournament, Syracuse didn’t have an automatic bid. It took nearly the entire selection show for CBS to finally confirm Syracuse was in. Even younger players like Jonny Flynn appreciated the fact that older players could experience what they’ve always dreamed about.

‘Guys like Paul Harris talking about the two years he’s been here, and he just can’t wait to see his name go across the screen,’ Flynn said. ‘I never really thought about that until it happened. You could really feel it on the inside for guys like him and Eric Devendorf, who have been here and missed out on it two years in a row. It’s just fulfilling to see those guys faces when we made it.’ mibonner@syr.edu

Published on March 16, 2009 at 12:00 pm