The Daily OrangePEAKING: Syracuse upsets Marquette in regular season finale to secure No. 6 seed in Big East tournament
By Michael Bonner
Posted: 3/7/09, 6:50 PM EST Section: Sports
MILWAUKEE - Rick Jackson was asked what was going through his mind as he walked to the free throw line with Syracuse down one with only 13 seconds remaining in regulation Saturday. Not an easy shot to make, considering the 19,144 fans, the most fans ever to see a college basketball game in Wisconsin, were trying desperately to force a miss.
As Jim Boeheim walked through the locker room to talk to his point guard Jonny Flynn, the head coach took a detour and answered the question before his forward could speak.
"Pray, pray. He was praying it in," said Boeheim, with his arms flailing about. "...I don't know how it went in."
Perhaps. But the shot fell to send the game to overtime, where the No. 25 Orange (23-8, 11-7 Big East) pulled out an 86-79 thriller over No. 13 Marquette (23-8, 12-6) at the Bradley Center.
Syracuse finishes its regular season on a four-game winning streak and secured the No. 6 seed in the Big East tournament. SU will play the winner of the Seton Hall-South Florida game Wednesday at 9 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Orange has beaten both potential opponents earlier this season.
To get there, the Orange had to get through a tough Golden Eagles squad on the road, and it took an extra five minutes. Point guard Jonny Flynn started the scoring in overtime with a layup for two of the 20 points Flynn scored after halftime. He finished with a team-high 24 points and six assists.
His co-pilot in the backcourt, Andy Rautins, finished the job in OT that Flynn started. The shooting guard scored seven of the Orange's final nine points, including an acrobatic layup to put SU up by three with 1:24 left - reminiscent to plays normally executed by guard Eric Devendorf.
"When I took it in, I saw (Arinze Onuaku) dive, so I figured if I take it to the basket and at least get it off the rim, he'd be able to clean it up," Rautins said. "But I've been watching (Devendorf) and taking notes. It was a big play for us, though."
As Jim Boeheim walked through the locker room to talk to his point guard Jonny Flynn, the head coach took a detour and answered the question before his forward could speak.
"Pray, pray. He was praying it in," said Boeheim, with his arms flailing about. "...I don't know how it went in."
Perhaps. But the shot fell to send the game to overtime, where the No. 25 Orange (23-8, 11-7 Big East) pulled out an 86-79 thriller over No. 13 Marquette (23-8, 12-6) at the Bradley Center.
Syracuse finishes its regular season on a four-game winning streak and secured the No. 6 seed in the Big East tournament. SU will play the winner of the Seton Hall-South Florida game Wednesday at 9 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Orange has beaten both potential opponents earlier this season.
To get there, the Orange had to get through a tough Golden Eagles squad on the road, and it took an extra five minutes. Point guard Jonny Flynn started the scoring in overtime with a layup for two of the 20 points Flynn scored after halftime. He finished with a team-high 24 points and six assists.
His co-pilot in the backcourt, Andy Rautins, finished the job in OT that Flynn started. The shooting guard scored seven of the Orange's final nine points, including an acrobatic layup to put SU up by three with 1:24 left - reminiscent to plays normally executed by guard Eric Devendorf.
"When I took it in, I saw (Arinze Onuaku) dive, so I figured if I take it to the basket and at least get it off the rim, he'd be able to clean it up," Rautins said. "But I've been watching (Devendorf) and taking notes. It was a big play for us, though."
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