With Syracuse (20-13, 8-10 Atlantic Coast) set to face Arizona State (20-11, 8-10 Pac-12) on Wednesday at 9:10 p.m. in a First Four game, check out whether you remember some Syracuse history.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse played in the First Four?

You shouldn’t, because it hasn’t. It’s only been seven years since the First Four was introduced in 2011.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse was an 11-seed?

Again, this has never happened. Syracuse has only been a double-digit seed once since the NCAA Tournament started using seeds in 1979, when it was a 10-seed in 2016. That year, the Orange finished 19-12 (9-9 ACC) in the regular season and lost to Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC Tournament before earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

As a 10-seed, the Orange defeated No. 7 Dayton, No. 15 Middle Tennessee State, No. 11 Gonzaga, and No. 1 Virginia en route to its sixth Final Four appearance. It was the fourth time a double-digit seed reached the Final Four in NCAA Tournament history (1986 LSU Tigers, 2006 George Mason Patriots, 2011 VCU Rams).

Do you remember the last time Syracuse played Arizona State?

The most recent meeting between Syracuse and Arizona State came in the Round of 32 in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The No. 3 Orange defeated the No. 6 Sun Devils, 78-67. Eric Devendorf led the way with 21 points and Andy Rautins contributed 17 points off the bench.

Rihards Kuksiks and Ty Abbott powered ASU’s offense, scoring 20 points apiece, while current Houston Rockets star James Harden shot 2-for-10, scoring just 10 points. Syracuse fell to Blake Griffin-led No. 2 Oklahoma, 84-71, in the Round of 16 five days later.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse was in the same region as Kansas?

In the 2014 NCAA Tournament, Kansas and Syracuse were the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the South Region, respectively. In the Round of 64, the Orange trounced No. 14 Western Michigan, 77-53, behind 18 points from Trevor Cooney, while the Jayhawks beat No. 15 Eastern Kentucky, 80-69.

Both teams suffered narrow defeats to double-digit seeds in the Round of 32. SU was upset by No. 11 Dayton, 55-53, and Kansas fell to No. 10 Stanford, 60-57. Syracuse began the 2013-14 season 25-0, but lost six of its last nine games.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse was in the same region as Duke?

Following its historic Big East Tournament victory led by Gerry McNamara in 2006, Syracuse was bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by No. 12 Texas A&M, 66-58, in Atlanta, Georgia. After averaging 16.3 points per game in the Big East Tournament, McNamara went 0-for-6 shooting, scoring two points. The Aggies were eliminated by No. 4 LSU in the following round.

In the Round of 16, the Tigers ended No. 1 Duke’s season. The Blue Devils were 30-3 entering the tournament, with ultimate Wooden Award winner J.J. Redick leading the way. After defeating No. 16 Southern and No. 8 George Washington in the first two rounds, Duke fell to LSU, 62-54, due in part to a 3-of-18 shooting performance from Redick. No. 3 Florida won its first of two-straight national titles that year.

Do you remember the last time Syracuse played against Bobby Hurley?

In the 1989 ACC-Big East Challenge, No. 1 Syracuse slid past No. 6 Duke, 78-76. SU’s Stephen Thompson played all 40 minutes and scored a team-high 21 points, while Billy Owens and Derrick Coleman chipped in 18 and 16 points, respectively. Duke freshman Bobby Hurley, who went on to win back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1991 and 1992, tallied four points. The Blue Devils’ Robert Brickey dropped 21 points and Christian Laettner added 19 points.

The Orange was a No. 2 seed in the Southeast Region in the 1990 NCAA Tournament, and defeated No. 15 Coppin State and No. 7 Virginia before falling to No. 6 Minnesota in the Round of 16, 82-75. No. 3 Duke won the East Region, eliminating No. 1 Connecticut to advance to the Final Four in Denver, Colorado. The Blue Devils beat No. 4 Arkansas in the national semifinal, but were dominated by Jerry Tarkanian’s UNLV Runnin’ Rebels in the final, 103-73.

Published on March 13, 2018 at 5:59 pm

Contact David: ddschnei@syr.edu