Year XXI: Boeheim 25 Years In 25 Days

Tomorrow night the Syracuse Orangemen will take on NIKE Elite in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. In Jim Boeheim's 21st season the coach won his 500th game. Freshman guard Jason Hart burst onto the scene with his defensive play-making, while Otis Hill led the Orange in scoring during the 1996-97 campaign.

Record 19-13, 9-9 in the Big East

This was just the second time a team coached by Jim Boeheim failed to win 20 games in a season.

The Orangemen set a school single-season record with 233 three-pointers, breaking the record of 209, set in the 1991-1992 season.

For just the third time in the history of the Carrier Classic, the Orangemen did not win the tournament. SU lost to Eastern Michigan 68-65 in the finals.

Coach Boeheim reached a milestone this season, winning his 500th career coaching victory, February 22, 1997, when the Orangemen defeated Rutgers 92-62.

Jason Hart broke the SU single-season and freshman record for most steals in a season with 90 steals.

Hart also broke the SU freshman single-game record with seven steals in the win against Colgate.

Otis Hill became the 38th SU player to score 500 or more points in a single season. Hill finished his career ranked 20th on SU's career scoring list.

Marius Janulis set the SU record for consecutive games with a three-point field goal, hitting at lesat one in 18 games.

BIG GAME: 'Cuse & UConn, The Dome and OT
Jason Cipolla led Orangemen with 27 points as SU defeated Connecticut 71-66 in overtime on Feb. 17, 1997. To tie the game at 57 and send it to the extra period, Cipolla hit a five-footer in the lane with 23 seconds left to play. Otis Hill scored six of the SU's 14 points in overtime. Hill finished with 15 points. Richard Hamilton led the Huskies in scoring with 19 points. 22,950 fans packed the Dome for the classic BIG EAST match-up.

Coaching Staff:
Jim Boeheim, Head Coach
Bernie Fine, Assistant
Louis Orr, Assistant
Mike Hopkins, Assistant

1996-1997 Statistics

Player		PPG	RPG	APG
Otis Hill		15.7	6.1	0.8
Jason Cipolla	13.2	3.5	2.8
Todd Burgan	15.1	7.6	2.6
Jason Hart		9.6	3.5	5.8
Marius Janulis	9.3	3.8	1.6
Etan Thomas	5.7	4.2	0.1
Ramel Lloyd	4.6	2.0	0.6
Elvir Ovcina	3.7	4.8	1.2
LaSean Howard	3.0	2.0	0.8
Donovan McNabb	2.8	1.3	0.5
JeCarl Riggins	0.6	0.5	0.8
Erik Frazier	0.9	0.4	0.7
Evan Vogel	0.5	0.3	0.3

Click here for Year I: Taking the Reigns

Click Here For Year II: Magic's Visit

Click Here For Year III: The Wins Keep Coming

Click Here Year IV: The Birth of the BIG EAST

Year V: The Orange Defeats Villanova In Overtime Thriller

Year VI: 13 Straight Trips to the Post Season

Year VII: 13th Consecutive Post-Season Appearances

Year VIII: The Pearl Cometh

Year IX: Win No. 200

Year X: Battling With the Johnnies>

Year XI: The Championship Run

Year XII: Sherman's March on the Record Book