The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Nick Ruggiero

There was no more talk of the NCAA Tournament in the locker room and no more pervasive speculation about bubbles, bids or bracketology.

No, with the postseason already determined, Syracuse could get back to basic basketball, and judging by its relaxed effort in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night, it was clear the team's intensity wasn't quite at the level it was a few weeks ago.

For Jim Boeheim, though, the next few weeks present an opportunity for further coaching. And against Robert Morris, Boeheim certainly didn't take the night off.

In fact, he was as animated as ever, yelling at referees, lobbing instructions and, at times, storming up and down the sideline. At one point, after freshman guard Scoop Jardine bricked a wide open layup late in the game, he angrily ripped off his suit jacket and threw it.

"I don't do that often," Boeheim said when asked about it after the game. "It takes a major cardinal error. We made major errors, but not major cardinal errors. That was a major cardinal error."

The emotional moment was in fact something one might expect to see on the opposing sideline tonight when SU takes on Maryland at the Carrier Dome at 7 (ESPNU). Terrapins head coach - and Boeheim's good friend - Gary Williams has earned a reputation for his antics in his 30 seasons of coaching.

Fifth-seeded Maryland comes in having upset No. 4-seed Minnesota, 68-58, in Minneapolis Tuesday night. The Terps had lost five of their last six games before that, and finished sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

For Syracuse, there is still no indication on whether point guard Jonny Flynn will be ready to play today, although he was practicing with the team Wednesday afternoon. Flynn sat the entire second half with a back injury against Robert Morris.

Matching up with his longtime - and, in many ways, comparable - pal Williams, Boeheim certainly won't want a disappointing effort from his team. The last time these two teams met was in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2004, which SU won 72-70.

After the game, Boeheim gave a memorable quote about his close relationship with Williams.

"I try not to think about (the friendship)," Boeheim said in 2004. "When the game starts, I am worried about the opposite team. If Gary and I were on the court together, there would be a lot of fouls."

Of course, Williams won his first national championship in 2002; a year later, Boeheim won his first.

Continued...

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