The 1995–96 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
as a member of the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...
. The head coach was
Jim Boeheim
James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Syracuse Orange men's team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Boeheim has guided the Orange to ten Big East Conference ...
, serving for his 20th year. The team played its home games at the
Carrier Dome
The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed sports stadium in Syracuse, New York. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the University ...
in
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. The team finished with a 29–9 (12–6) record, while making it to the Championship Game of the
NCAA tournament.
The team was led by seniors
John Wallace and Lazarus Sims. Fellow senior J.B. Reafsnyder, juniors Jason Cipolla and
Otis Hill
Otis Hill (born 31 March 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. He played as a power forward. He is a graduate of Pleasantville High School in New York State, played basketball there and won many awards. At Pleasantville Hig ...
, sophomore Todd Burgan and Marius Janulis played key roles. Walk-on and future NFL star
Donovan McNabb
Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, he played football and b ...
also appeared in five games.
Season recap
Syracuse was aided by the return of John Wallace, who had declared for the NBA draft, but chose to withdraw his early entry. Wallace would lead Syracuse in scoring for 30-of-38 games, leading Syracuse to an early 11–0 record.
With the Orangemen hitting a bump in mid-season losing five of eight Big East games, Boeheim chose to insert Jason Cipolla into the starting lineup in favor of Marius Janulis. The move worked as Syracuse would go 8–1 to finish the regular season with a record of 22–7. Syracuse would advance to the
Big East tournament semifinals, where it was knocked off by Connecticut, 85–67.
Syracuse was named a No. 4 seed for the tournament, and played one of its most memorable games in the Sweet 16 against
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. Cipolla hit a jumper as time expired in regulation to send the game to overtime, and John Wallace sealed the victory with a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining to propel Syracuse to an 83–81 win. Wallace finished with 30 points and 15 rebounds in that game.
Syracuse would knock off the
Paul Pierce
Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. He was most recently an analyst on ESPN ...
,
Raef LaFrentz
Raef Andrew LaFrentz (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compet ...
and
Jacques Vaughn-led
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
in the Elite 8, and
Erick Dampier
Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...
and the
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I.
Sports sp ...
in the national semifinal game. This set up a matchup between
Jim Boeheim
James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Syracuse Orange men's team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Boeheim has guided the Orange to ten Big East Conference ...
and former assistant
Rick Pitino
Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA D ...
, who was now head coach of the
Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...
in the
National Championship game.
Syracuse, a heavy underdog, nearly overcame a 13-point second-half deficit, closing to within 2, but Kentucky held on for a 76–67 victory. Kentucky featured a deep team, including future NBA players
Derek Anderson,
Antoine Walker
Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...
,
Tony Delk
Tony Lorenzo Delk (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player and college assistant coach. He last served as an assistant coach for the New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team. During his playing days, he w ...
and
Ron Mercer
Ronald Eugene Mercer (born May 18, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. After his career at the University of Kentucky, Mercer played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he ended his career with ...
.
BASKETBALL;Relentless Kentucky Captures Championship – New York Times
/ref>
Roster
* John Wallace (22.2 points, 8.7 rebounds)
* Jason Cipolla (7.7 points, 2.0 rebounds)
*Lazarus Sims (6.3 points, 7.4 assists)
*Todd Burgan (12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds)
*Otis Hill
Otis Hill (born 31 March 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. He played as a power forward. He is a graduate of Pleasantville High School in New York State, played basketball there and won many awards. At Pleasantville Hig ...
(12.7 points, 5.5 rebounds)
*Marius Janulis (6.1 points, 2.1 rebounds)
*J. B. Reafsnyder (5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds)
Schedule and results
, -
!colspan=9 style=, Regular Season
, -
!colspan=9 style=, Big East tournament
, -
!colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament
Rankings
[*]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team
Syracuse Orange
The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference.
The school's mascot is ...
Syracuse Orange men's basketball seasons
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons
Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
* Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Miss ...
Syracuse Orangemen basketball
Syracuse Orangemen basketball