Indiana, Syracuse meet for first time in NCAA since ’87 classic
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Assistant Editor
WASHINGTON D.C. ” When Indiana and Syracuse do battle tonight at the Verizon Center in the nation’s capital, many Hoosier faithful will fondly recall the last time these two college basketball Goliaths collided in the NCAA Tournament.
Remember March 30, 1987?
There’s not a Hoosier fan on the planet that doesn’t remember that date. That’s when Keith Smart hit a game-winning baseline jumper to lift Bob Knight’s Indiana team past Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse squad 74-73 in the New Orleans’ Superdome.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 26 years since that game and perhaps even harder to fathom that none of the current IU players were even born yet.
Tom Crean was a student at Central Michigan University.
On the other hand, Boeheim was finishing his 11th year leading the Cuse.
Fast forward some two-and-a-half decades later, and the two programs will meet for the just the fifth time ever on the hardwood.
The stakes won’t be quite as high as they were in ’87, but they’ll be close. The victor will advance to the Elite Eight and play in the East Region finals on Saturday with a chance to move on to the Final Four next weekend in Atlanta.
IU (29-6 overall) comes in as one of three No. 1 seeds still alive in the Big Dance. In fact, the East is the lone region where the top four seeds survived the first weekend.
A win over No. 4-seed Syracuse (28-9) would get the Hoosiers a date with the winner of the Marquette-Miami (Fla.) game, which tips at 7:15 p.m. The IU-Syracuse game will begin at approximately 9:45 p.m.
Since getting by Temple on Sunday, the Hoosiers should be relatively healthy as Jordan Hulls, who dinged up his shoulder against the Owls, said he’s fine.
“The doctors are doing a great job of getting me back in shape,” the senior guard said.
Perhaps no Hoosier is looking forward to playing in Washington D.C. than Victor Oladipo, who is from nearby Upper Marlboro, Md. He had some memorable moments in the Verizon Center, including a couple of city championships with DeMatha High School.
Many of IU’s instate players were hoping to be spending this weekend in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. However, Louisville was given that luxury since it was the top No. 1 seed in this year’s field. That’s no big deal, according to Washington, Ind., native Cody Zeller.
“There’s Indiana fans across the country,” Zeller said. “I’m sure we will have a good showing. We don’t worry about it too much. We just play the hand that’s dealt to us. We’re excited to be here.”
This game will certainly be a contrast of styles. IU will try and force an uptempo affair as very few teams in the country can play a full-court transition game like the Hoosiers can.
Syracuse, on the other hand, will hope its length and athleticism bothers the Hoosiers in its patented 2-3 zone, which IU doesn’t see in the Big Ten. It would be wise for the Orange’s cause if it made the Big Ten champions try and beat them in a half-court game.
“Syracuse is unique because they’re so long and athletic,” Zeller explained. “They obviously play the zone defense that we haven’t seen as much this year. I don’t know if there is one team or players to make the comparison to, but we definitely have our work cut out. It’s what they’re known for and it’s going to be tough for us.”
Crean has some familiarity with coaching against Boeheim’s zone since he was at Marquette. With that said, the IU boss is impressed with how effective his zone is year after year.
“With that defense he’s got great length, great foot speed, they cover ground in a short period of time, they move on the pass and not just the catch, there are shot blockers and the long-arm guards always create an issue,” Crean said.
“At Marquette we didn’t necessarily have the ability to score in the low post that maybe we have now. It allows you to be a little bit more creative.
“I don’t think you can look at that zone and think you’re going to beat it any one way, but I don’t think you can look at the zone and think you can stand around and pass the ball around the perimeter either, that is a recipe for defeat,” he added.
If Crean’s bunch can have success against that Syracuse zone and is victorious, IU would advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2002 and be within one win of returning to the Final Four, which has been the end goal for this group of Hoosiers from Day One.
