The 2009–10 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team represented

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in the

2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2009, and ended with the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 5, 2010, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The openin ...

. Their head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 34th year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. Key contributors included seniors Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins, juniors Rick Jackson and Wesley Johnson, sophomores Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph and freshmen Mookie Jones, DaShonte Riley, James Southerland and Brandon Triche. Although widely expected to finish near the middle of the league, the Orange captured its eighth Big East regular season title, and second outright, as well as the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament. The team also achieved its first No. 1 ranking in the national AP Poll since the 1989-90 season, and its first in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll since winning the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

."Syracuse No. 1 for first time in 20 years"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. Published 03-01-2010. Retrieved 03-02-2010."Syracuse rises to No. 1 in coaches' poll"
ESPN.com. Published 03-01-2010. Retrieved 03-02-2010. The Orange failed to win the Big East tournament, falling in the quarterfinals to Georgetown, but their regular season efforts earned them a 1 seed in the West Region of the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They easily won their first and second-round games over 16 seed Vermont and 8 seed Gonzaga to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they were upset by 5 seed and AP #11

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

to end the season 30–5.

Preseason

Roster changes

Syracuse lost its starting backcourt from the previous season as point guard Jonny Flynn declared for the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball p ...

and was taken with the sixth overall pick by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. Also turning pro were shooting guard Eric Devendorf and small forward Paul Harris. The Orange also lost one scholarship senior, power forward Kristof Ongenaet and one transfer, center Sean Williams. Additions to the team include Iowa State transfer

Wes Johnson Wes Johnson (born June 6, 1961) is an American actor, cartoonist, comedian and voice artist, who has appeared in such films as ''A Dirty Shame'', ''Head of State (2003 film), Head of State'', ''The Invasion (film), The Invasion'', ''For Richer ...

, who sat out the 2008–09 season because of NCAA transfer rules. Also, point guard Scoop Jardine returns after redshirting due to a stress fracture in his shin. Small forward Mookie Jones also redshirted the previous year because of a hip injury. Syracuse also brought in three new players for 2009-10: power forward DaShonte Riley, small forward James Southerland and guard Brandon Triche. Southerland was actually a 2008 recruit, but could not play because he was academically ineligible. He spent a year at a prep school to improve his grades.

Recruiting

Roster

Preseason outlook

The departure of Flynn left many college basketball observers pessimistic about the Orange. In the preseason coaches' poll, Syracuse was predicted to finish sixth in the Big East and were unranked in the preseason AP Poll. Arinze Onuaku was the only Orange player to make the preseason All-Big East team, receiving an honorable mention.

Season

Notable games

* On November 4, Syracuse was stunned by Division II Le Moyne, 82–79, in its final

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

before opening the regular season. The loss was Syracuse's first exhibition loss in six years."Johnson, LeMoyne stun Syracuse"
ESPN.com. Published 11-04-2009. Retrieved 01-18-2010. * On November 20, then-No. 24 Syracuse upset then-No. 4

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

87–71 in the finals of the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. Wesley Johnson scored 25 points and collected eight rebounds, and Syracuse used a 22–1 run to open the second half."Syracuse opens second half with 22-1 run to topple North Carolina"
ESPN.com. Published 11-20-2009. Retrieved 01-18-2010. * On December 10, then-No. 7 Syracuse knocked off then-No. 10

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in a match up of unbeaten teams. Rick Jackson scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Andy Rautins had 18 points and Wes Johnson finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds."Jackson has 21 points, 11 rebounds as Syracuse remains unbeaten"
ESPN.com. Published 12-10-2009. Retrieved 01-18-2010. * On January 2, then-No. 5 Syracuse was handed its first loss of the season as it was upset by then-unranked

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

82–72. Pitt's Ashton Gibbs scored 24 points and Jermaine Dixon added 21. The Orange was led by Wesley Johnson's 19 points."It's cold outside: No. 5 Syracuse goes 1 of 13 on 3-pointers in loss to Pitt"
ESPN.com. Published 01-02-2010. Retrieved 01-18-2010. * On January 26, Jim Boeheim extended his NCAA Division-I record for most 20-win seasons to 32, when then-No. 4 Syracuse rallied from a 14-0 starting deficit to defeat then-No. 7 Georgetown 73–56. The Orange's Kris Joseph came off the bench to score 15 points, and Wesley Johnson added 14 points and 4 blocks, taking advantage of the Hoyas' 19 turnovers and 20 personal fouls."Boeheim takes over sixth place on career wins list"
ESPN.com. Published 01-25-2010. Retrieved 01-25-2010. *On February 27, the Orange clinched its eighth Big East regular season title and a No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament by beating No. 8 Villanova, 95–77. The game also set the NCAA on-campus basketball attendance record, with 34,616 spectators present. Three days later they won the title outright, with a win against St. John's, 85–66.

Other news

* On March 1, two days after beating Villanova, Syracuse achieved its first No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll since the 1989–90 season, and its first in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll since winning the

Schedule

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SUAthletics.com. Retrieved 01-18-2010. , - !colspan=9, Regular SeasonSyracuse Orange Schedule - 2009-10
ESPN. Retrieved 1/18/2010. , - !colspan=9, Big East tournament , - !colspan=9, NCAA tournament† , -

Rankings

2010 signing class

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Syracuse Orange Men's Basketball Team

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, 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 ...

Syracuse Orange men's basketball seasons

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