Syracuse ends UConn's Big East run

As hard as it is to describe 31 wins in a simple little phrase, Syracuse's basketball season nonetheless could be summarized in the three words that coach Jim Boeheim proclaimed Thursday: "Nothing bothers us."

No matter what serious issues have surrounded the team, Syracuse has remained unfazed, almost to the point of being defiantly unfazed. So it was no big deal that the Orange was down by eight points in the second half against defending national champion Connecticut, which had fazed every postseason opponent it has faced for more than a year. Syracuse stood strong down the stretch and beat UConn, 58-55, in an exhilarating, draining Big East Tournament quarterfinal Thursday.

"These are the kinds of games you want," said Dion Waiters, who scored 18 points off the bench to lead Syracuse. "You have to have confidence in yourself and in your team."

That has been the philosophy for Syracuse (31-1) through a season that has been almost as full of scandal as victories. It began in November, when longtime associate coach Bernie Fine was fired in the wake of allegations that he had molested a former team ball boy.

It reached another peak this week amid a Yahoo! report that, since 2001, at least 10 Orange players tested positive for banned recreational substances yet were allowed to keep playing. The university acknowledged that the NCAA is investigating, adding that no current players are involved. "This was reported five years ago, and we're waiting for them to . . . finish the process," Boeheim said after the game in his first public comment about the latest allegation.

He went on to tell a room full of reporters, "This is you people's thing. This doesn't bother our players or our team or me. This is a media thing, period. If things were bothering us, we wouldn't be 31-1. Nothing bothers us. We play. We come ready to play. That's what you should do in life. Everybody gets bothered. Everybody has problems. I'm much more concerned about my wife being mad at me than I am anything else, to tell you the truth."

Later, the NCAA issued a statement clarifying the time frame. "The NCAA enforcement staff received a self-report from Syracuse University on October 27, 2010," the NCAA said, reinforcing what it said when the possible violations were first made public.

Back to the game: Syracuse had its hands full with Connecticut (20-13), which had won seven straight Big East Tournament games and seemed primed for another five-wins-in-five-days ride. Guards Shabazz Napier (15 points) and Jeremy Lamb (10 points in his eighth straight double-figure Big East postseason game) and freshman center Andre Drummond (14 points) had the Orange on the run, if not on the ropes.

But then Syracuse flashed its inner strength and depth. James Southerland, a junior forward from Bayside, hit two three-pointers, and Waiters' jumper helped turn a 47-43 deficit into a 51-47 lead. Southerland scored all 10 of his points in the final eight minutes and helped the Orange bench outscore the starters 30-28. All of them were unfazed. "Off-the-court issues have nothing to do with what we do on the court, especially when you have a great team like this. We're competitive and we're just doing what we do," Southerland said.

Waiters said, "I mean, you can't do anything if it's out of your hands. We weren't there when all that stuff was going on. We block everything out."

That included the momentum of Connecticut behind coach Jim Calhoun, who returned last week from back surgery. "I love Jim Boeheim like a brother," Calhoun said, "and through everything else, including other things that have gone on, he's done an incredible job coaching his team."

With AP