Orange Look To Escape Past

March 15, 2000 / 8:29 PM EST / CBS/AP

A startling loss in the NCAA tournament is all it takes to forever change the perception of a school or coach.

Just ask Syracuse 's Jim Boeheim.

He's got 573 career wins, 22 seasons of 20 or more wins, a stable of All-American players, a .667 winning percentage in the NCAAs since 1987 and two trips to the title game.

And yet all Boeheim ever hears about are the two times (1978, 1991) his Orangemen were knocked out in the first round by a double-digit seed.

"That's what people remember," Boeheim said Wednesday. "We've lost twice in the first round in 20 years. But every time I read an article it's 'Well, Syracuse gets beat in the first round a lot.' I didn't realize two was a lot, but I guess it is."

Not anymore.

The days of shocking tournament upsets has faded dramatically. In fact, a No. 12 seed has won at least one tournament game each year since 1988, and in the past few years schools like Gonzaga, Valparaiso and Miami of Ohio have had their moments in March.

Boeheim is hoping No. 4 seed Syracuse (24-5) can avoid making http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/madness/2000/teams/SAMFRD.htm” target="external">Samford (21-10) another surprise story on Thursday in the first round of the Midwest Regional. The Orangemen will face the 13th-seeded Bulldogs in the second afternoon game.

No. 5 seed Kentucky (22-9), whose seven NCAA titles are second only to UCLA's 11, and No. 12 seed St. Bonaventure (21-9) will meet for the first time and tip off this year's 64-team tournament at 12:20 p.m. EST in Cleveland's Convocation Center.

In the evening session, No. 1 seed Michigan State (26-7) will face No. 16 seed Valparaiso (19-12) at 7:40 p.m., followed by No. 8 seed Utah (22-8) and No. 9 Saint Louis (19-13) at 10:10.

Boeheim isn't sure which Syracuse team will show up on Thursday. The Orangemen who opened the season 19-0, or the ones who went 5-5 down the stretch and looked awful in a loss to Georgetown in the Big East tournament's first round last week.

"We just didn't come out and play, and I don't know why," Boeheim said. "If I did, I would have stopped it. It caught me by surprise."

Now is not the time for another surprise.

Point guard Jason Hart, one of three senior starters for Syracuse, dismisses the notion the Orangemen are under any more pressure because they're the higher seed and expected to advance.

"It doesn't matter what number is next to your team right now," Hart said. "Everybody in the country is on eggshells throughout the country. The conference, the ranking and all that has no effect on anything right now."

Syracuse knows better than to look past Samford, which copies Princeton's offense right down to the backdoor cuts.

The Bulldogs lead the nation in field-goal percentage, are third on 3-pointers and opened the season by beating St. John's, the same team that trounced them in last year's NCAA tournament.

Samford was overwhelmed by the TV lights and crowds in the first round last year in Orlando, Fla., and fell behind 15-0.

"We went to a party and an NCAA game broke out," Samford coach Jimmy Tillette said. "We were embarrassed."

Kentucky, normally one of the country's deepest teams, arrives at this year's tournament undermanned.

The Wildcats are down to nine players following the suspension of starting forward Desmond Allison, arrested last weekend on a drunken driving charge. He has been indefinitely suspended and is not expected to play again this season.

"That was a real blow to our team," Wildcats coach Tubby Smith said. "But I think our team has overcome it. Even with Desmond out, we have a lot of talented players."

Smith said reserves J.P. Blevins and Marvin Stone will get more playing time, and Saul Smith will play some point guard.

While a trip to the NCAA tournament is almost a birth rite at Kentucky, St. Bonaventure is making its first appearance in the field since 1978. But although they've never played the Wildcats, the Bonnies won't be awed by their storied opponent.

"This is my first time in the tournament and that's history, too," said Bonnies guard Tim Winn, who was 9 months old the last time St. Bonaventure made an NCAA trip. "I don't really worry about the seedings. We're here and a lot of strange things can happen in this tournament."

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