At the end of most seasons, Syracuse gathers at head coach Jim Boeheim’s house on Selection Sunday to witness the brackets take shape. Last year, forward Paul Harris didn’t watch. He didn’t want to see any team’s logo appear, as the likelihood of seeing his team’s logo was slim.

‘Last year I didn’t watch it,’ Harris said. ‘I just hoped someone would call me and tell me that we were in.’

This year, he went to Boeheim’s house and after seeing Syracuse seeded third, he took it upon himself to alert everyone. As the players filed into the academic wing of Manley Field House, Harris was one of the final players to enter the room, but made sure everyone knew of the news.

‘You guys missed it,’ Harris said, as if he were the only one who knew of Syracuse’s berth in the NCAA Tournament. ‘We’re going to Miami!’

The Sunshine State seems like a perfect destination for the Orange, considering SU’s recent hot streak in winning eight of 10 games – and it couldn’t come at a better time.

For the first time in three seasons, Syracuse opens play in the NCAA Tournament Friday at 12:15 p.m. as the No. 3 seed Orange will face No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin. SU, a team that makes its 32nd trip to the Tournament, has encountered peaks and valleys throughout the season, but right now seems to be the highest peak. Stephen F. Austin is making its first-ever trip to the Big Dance.

‘The team’s peaking at the right time,’ junior Andy Rautins said. ‘We’re coming together better than we ever have before. We’re excited where we’re at, at this point in the season.’

Four wins by an average margin of victory of 22.5 points to close out the regular season, including a win at then-No. 13 Marquette, put SU on the radar to make noise in the Big East tournament. At Madison Square Garden, the team’s high level of play increased even more, as it went toe to toe with Connecticut for 70 minutes and eventually emerged from the eight-round prize fight with a 10-point knockout.

The stellar play continued with another overtime win against West Virginia and a losing effort to Louisville in which Boeheim called the team’s first-half effort, the ‘best first half we’ve played all year.’

Whether the Orange can keep that type of play up through the Tournament, point guard Jonny Flynn doesn’t have any doubts.

‘I think we have better to come,’ Flynn said. ‘We’re really playing well and I think … we hate losing here more than anyone else, but that loss sort of gave us a sour taste that we don’t want to taste again, so I think we’re going to go out on a mission and not want to feel like that.

‘When we see Louisville jumping up and down, when we see their starters in the game with our walk-ons in the game, they were really putting it to us. I think the loss is really going to make us a better team and we’re just going to build from that.’

Basing off history in general, the loss in the Big East final may be a good thing. Boeheim pointed to the three times he’s led his team to the Final Four that it didn’t win the Big East championship. The five times the Orange has won the conference tournament, the furthest it went was the second round.

But this Syracuse squad has many fans reminiscing about another 6-foot point guard leading SU through a magical Big East tournament. They also seemed hot at the right time. In 2006, Gerry McNamara’s heroics led the Orange to the Big East tournament championship and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA’s.

Many thought fatigue got the best of the Orange as it exited the tournament in the first round. But Boeheim’s said McNamara was more than tired and injured, and his point guard this year concurs.

‘We’re a completely different team,’ Flynn said. ‘I don’t think there’s a comparison between the teams that played back then the last time they lost and the team now. I think we’re a better overall team … I think we’re going to go out there and play Syracuse basketball the way we’ve been playing for the past two weeks and really do some damage.’

Another key difference is the 2006 team needed a run in the conference tournament in order to have any hopes of an NCAA appearance. This year’s addition already had a spot locked up with its strong non-conference resume, as well as an 11-7 record in conference. That, along with its hot streak, resulted in the selection committee rewarding SU with a No. 3 seed, the same seed it had in 2003 when it won its only National Championship.

But the best sign for the Orange is that it’s playing its best basketball now.

‘We started out playing pretty well this year, but I really believe this is by far the best we’ve played, at the end of this year,’ Boeheim said. ‘…We’re ready to go. We’re looking forward to (the NCAA Tournament).’

mibonner@syr.edu

Published on March 18, 2009 at 12:00 pm