The last time Jonny Flynn was in Madison Square Garden, he put on a show for the New York City crowd – throwing over-the-shoulder passes, breaking defenders’ ankles and saluting the crowd.

As his team celebrated Saturday after upsetting Marquette, Flynn stood in the center of the Bradley Center strumming an air guitar, getting ready for another set in the Garden.

As a result of Syracuse’s 83-79 win over the Golden Eagles, the No. 18 Orange secured the sixth seed in the Big East Tournament meaning Flynn will have to wait until Wednesday to bring that swagger back to Madison Square Garden. Syracuse will play Seton Hall, who beat South Florida Tuesday night in the first round, at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The showmanship Flynn displayed in the Big Apple Feb. 24 also sparked something in his team. Entering the game SU, was 3-7 in its last 10 games. Five of the losses by double-digits.

But the Orange stampeded St. Johns by 29, and followed up that effort up with a 24-point thrashing of Cincinnati five days later. Two days later, the victim was Rutgers. The margin: 30.

To put a cherry on top of it all, SU capped off the regular season with a win in Milwaukee against then-No. 13 Marquette, a statement win the Orange had been lacking in conference play.

‘We’re heading in as good as we could,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said after Saturday’s win. ‘We started out with four (wins) and ended with four (wins). We’ll forget about the in between.’

During the stretch the Orange’s defense led the way with the best efforts of the season, especially in the first halves. Against the Red Storm SU allowed 18 points. When it hosted Cincinnati, the Bearcats managed one fewer, with 17, and Rutgers could only muster 20 points. The Scarlet Knights couldn’t do any better in the second half, posting another 20. The 40 point output tied for the lowest allowed by team in a Big East game.

‘We want to carry it over and just continue to ride this out,’ SU shooting guard Andy Rautins said. ‘We know what we are capable of so we just have to keep playing the way we are. And hopefully we’ll do some damage in the Big East.’

As SU returns to the site where the streak began, its first game is seemingly a layup. Syracuse beat both Seton Hall (16-14, 7-11 Big East) by 26, while scoring a season high 100 points, in its Big East opener Dec. 30.

If the Orange can make it to the quarterfinals it will face the No. 3 seed Connecticut, ranked No. 1 in the country as recently as last week, before a loss to Pittsburgh Saturday dropped the Huskies to the third spot. The second ranked team in the country, the Panthers, is seeded second, while No. 5 Louisville is the top seed.

The Orange went toe-to-toe with the then-No. 1 Huskies back on Feb. 11, but fell apart in the second half as a three-point deficit at the half grew to a 14-point loss. But the Orange does have some history on its side. SU has beaten the Huskies four of the last five including the last three times the two have met in the Big East Tournament.

History has a high likelihood of the two rivals meeting again. The Orange has lost its first game in the Big East tournament back-to-back years only once (1993-95). But SU seems to be hitting its stride.

‘We’re peaking at the right time, that’s what it’s all about in college basketball,’ Flynn said. ‘What time does a team peak? We peaked in the non-conference schedule at the right time and got some key wins and we’re peaking right now at the right time going into the Big East tournament on a snow ball effect.’

mibonner@syr.edu

Published on March 11, 2009 at 12:00 pm