Enthusiasm for Syracuse basketball didn’t wane a bit at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night despite last weekend’s sexual-assault allegations against longtime assistant coach Bernie Fine.
As Syracuse scooted away from Virginia Tech midway through the second half after trailing the first 27 minutes, the Garden again sounded like Carrier Dome East, filled with happy orange-clad fans.
Today, when fifth-ranked Syracuse faces Stanford in the NIT Tip-Off championship game in a battle of 5-0 unbeatens, there will be no Fine on the bench for a third straight game.
But there will be another raging sea of orange who believe this Jim Boeheim edition may be something special.
“We play against any team here, we’ll have the most fans,’’ said the Brazilian center Fab Melo.
The Fine situation (he allegedly sexually assaulted two ballboys in the 1980s and 1990s) hasn’t taken a toll on this deep, unbeaten club. Fine is on administrative leave as Syracuse authorities investigate the allegations.
“We’re here to win two basketball games,’’ Kris Joseph said after his 20-point output in Syracuse’s 69-58 semifinal win on Thanksgiving Eve. “We got the first one out of the way. We’re just looking forward to playing Stanford.’’
Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine was more emphatic, saying the Fine media frenzy is a motivator.
“A lot’s been taken from our team,’’ Jardine told ZagsBlog.com. “Nobody has been talking about Syracuse being top five in the country. It’s been all about what’s going on with the scandal. But for us, we just got to continue to play basketball and have fun, knowing this is our season and we can make the best of it.”
How good can Syracuse be? The Orange had won four straight blowouts before Wednesday’s test, which became a testament to their depth. Sophomores Dion Waiters and C.J. Fair came off the bench to combine for 10-of-19 shooting and 23 points. Sprinkle those two young up-and-comers to stalwarts Joseph, guard Brandon Triche, Melo (5 blocks) and Jardine, and there may be a bigger Syracuse Garden celebration in March at the Big East tournament.
But Boeheim still feels the sting of last March’s disappointing third-round exit in the NCAA tournament that followed a disappointing third place in the Big East tourney.
“We’ve still got a long ways to go,’’ Boeheim said. “I like what we’re doing. I think we can become a better team. But we’re not there, for sure.’’
Stanford stands as a nice test. The Cardinal are arguably the most-improved club in the Pac-12 and boast a definite NBA prospect, Josh Owens, who shot 10-of-12 in Wednesday’s blowout of Oklahoma State. It also boasts a quick, penetrating point guard in Aaron Bright and a good perimeter scorer in Chasson Randle.
“It’s a more physical team, it will be a tougher game than Virginia Tech,’’ said Waiters.
Boeheim called Stanford “very impressive.’’
“They moved the ball well, they shot it well, they defended,’’ Boeheim said. They have guys who can shoot it, handle it. They’re a really good basketball team. That’s what we need . We need another … it will be another tough game for us. ’’
* Virginia Tech faces Oklahoma State in the 2:30 p.m. consolation. The Cowboys play their second game since the tragic plane-crash deaths of the school’s women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna.