The # 2 Syracuse Orange wrapped up their most impressive regular season of all time on Saturday with a 58-49 win over the # 19 Louisville Cardinals on senior day. The victory marks the first time the Orange has ever beaten the Cardinals two times in one season, and also caps off a perfect record at the Carrier Dome this season for only the second time in history.
"This was one of our few easy games in our last eight," said Head Coach Jim Boeheim, "If you look closely at the last eight games we played, I think we had a couple of games in there that were easy and the other six could have gone either way. These guys have just made plays they had to going down the stretch."
Senior Kris Joseph finished with 11 points and 4 rebounds in his last game at the Carrier Dome, and was given a standing ovation when he left the game in the final minute. Scoop Jardine was held to no points, but insists that did not spoil the significance of his senior day.
"It was very emotional," said Jardine, "the most important thing for me was having my family here to cherish the moment with me. They’ve been through everything from my freshman year to my fifth year, and to see them and my teammates and everybody that loves and supports me there in that moment, it was emotional."
"The fans gave me a little standing ovation," said Joseph, "that was nice of them. But the thought of this being my last game at the Dome never really crossed my mind. Now, in the locker room, I’m thinking about it being my last game. But on the court, I was just thinking about the game."
This Orange seniors have never won the Big East Tournament, something that’s already driving Jardine to look ahead to next week in New York City.
"We still have a lot of basketball left to play, and we have to continue to play our game and play at a high level. I think we can do something special."
The Orange is the top seed in next week’s BIG EAST Tournament, and will play at noon this Thursday in the quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden.
