ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 30, 1996 TAG: 9604010119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: EAST RUTHERFORD, N. J.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Syracuse has had one of the premier teams in men's college basketball team for so long that the ``underdog'' label does not easily fit the Orangemen.
You won't find coach Jim Boeheim complaining, which, in itself, is a switch.
``I'm happy to be here,'' Boeheim said Friday at Continental Airlines Arena. ``So, I'm not going to say a word. I'm going to give you a whole new image. It probably won't last long, but I'll try my best.''
It's no wonder Boeheim is happy after taking the fourth-best Big East team - in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee - to a spot in the Final Four. The Orangemen (28-8) will meet Mississippi State (26-7) at 5:45 p.m. in today's first semifinal.
Certainly, Boeheim has done less with more. In a six-year span from 1986-91, the Orangemen were a second seed on five occasions, but only twice got as far as the regional final.
Syracuse did get to the championship game in 1987, only to lose to Indiana 74-73 on Keith Smart's last-second jump shot, but in 1991 the Orangemen suffered the ignominy of losing to 15th-seeded Richmond.
Syracuse had no such early-round problems this year, beating Montana State and Drexel convincingly. Then, it sweated out victories over Georgia, 83-81 in overtime, and Kansas, 60-57.
``I think probably when Jacque Vaughn missed that shot is probably the first time I thought about the Final Four this year,'' said Boeheim, referring to a missed 3-point attempt that would have sent the Kansas game into overtime.
``I felt, going into the tournament, we were playing good enough to win a couple of games if things went right. We easily could have been home after the Georgia game, which was pretty much what people thought or had hoped for.''
Unlike Boeheim, who has been refreshingly candid all week, Syracuse forward John Wallace was on edge Friday and repeatedly challenged the media during a question-and-answer session.
``We're only an underdog in your guys' eyes,'' he said. ``We feel we should have had even a better season than we did have. We lost to three or four teams we shouldn't have lost to.
``There's no animosity, [but] if you're not wearing an orange jersey or white jersey or not affiliated with Syracuse basketball, it doesn't matter to us right now.''
Needless to say, none of the would-be participants took kindly to the suggestion that the championship would be at stake when Massachusetts and Kentucky, the only remaining top seeds, met in the second semifinal.
``We're certainly not the marquee matchup,'' Mississippi State coach Richard Williams said. ``But, I think anybody that has any idea at all about college basketball knows that it's [Syracuse-Mississippi State] not a JV game.''
The only person who wasn't offended was Boeheim, whose kindler, gentler personna has been the talk of the media. Syracuse has won 20 or more games in 19 of Boeheim's 20 seasons, including the past 14, but Boeheim seldom gets mentioned with college basketball's elite coaches.
``I don't ignore it,'' Boeheim said. ``I'm sensitive, [but] I guess, after a number of years, it doesn't bother you as much any more. It's [the criticism] just harder to get through after all that time.
``I'm a hard guy to like with my whining. I don't know if I whine any more than some guys, but I certainly do do it. I don't intentionally do it; it's just part of the sideline thing.''
Boeheim certainly seems relaxed this week, which, in his mind, is one of the keys to success in the postseason. He noted that Kansas, with a Final Four bid on the line, did not play its normal game in the region final.
``The same thing applies here,'' Boeheim said. ``You try to go out and play like it isn't the Final Four, but, you know, it still is.''
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Syracuse forward John Wallace could play a big partby CNBin whether the Orangemen advance to the national championship game
when Syracuse meets Mississippi State in the semifinals.
2. chart - Syracuse. AP
3. chart - Mississippi State AP