March 16, 2000
Kentucky-Syracuse Preview
GAME: No. 5 Kentucky (22-9) vs. No. 4 Syracuse (25-5), Midwest Regional,Second Round.
TIME: Saturday, 1:10 p.m. EST.
SITE: Cleveland State Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
Kentucky, happy to survive a double-overtime thriller against St.Bonaventure, tries to reach the regional semifinals for the sixth straight yearas it battles Syracuse in the second round.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (22-9) have not lost in the second round since1994, when they were a No. 3 seed and lost to Marquette. Kentucky rode TayshaunPrince to an 85-80 victory over 12th-seeded St. Bonaventure in the first roundof the NCAA tournament on Thursday.
Prince scored a career-high 28 points, including a 3-pointer in the finalseconds of regulation to force overtime. Freshman Keith Bogans played all 45minutes and added 19 points for Kentucky, which used only seven players despitestarting point guard Saul Smith fouling out.
The Wildcats have only nine players available after coach Tubby Smithsuspended starting shooting guard Desmond Allison following his arrest fordrunken driving.
“They’re all big,” Smith said about the victory. “But this is a specialone because we had a young man who made a mistake. But we’ve got a tough groupof players.”
Syracuse (25-5), seeded fourth, had far less trouble in a 79-65 victory overNo. 13 Samford on Thursday. Jason Hart scored 17 points and Etan Thomas added16 for the Orangemen, who shot 55 percent (29-for-53) from the field. PrestonShumpert came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers and accounted for 17 ofSyracuse’s 25 bench points.
“I just wish he would get over halfcourt before he tries the 3,” Orangemencoach Jim Boeheim joked about Shumpert. “He’s a scorer and obviously he gaveus a big, big lift today.”
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 8-2, including a 76-67 victory overthe Orangemen in the 1996 NCAA tournament championship game. They also posted avictory in the 1975 NCAA tournament. Syracuse’s last win was a 93-85 triumphFeb. 12, 1994.
The teams shared three common opponents, Louisville, South Carolina andMiami. Kentucky went 4-0 in those games, winning by an average of 15.5 points.Syracuse went 2-1 in those games, losing at Louisville.
The winner of this game will play either No. 1 Michigan State or No. 8 Utahin the regional semifinals at Auburn Hills, Mich., on March 23.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Kentucky – F Tayshaun Prince (13.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg), F JulesCamara (7.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg), C Jamaal Magloire (13.2 ppg, 9.1 rpg), G KeithBogans (12.5 ppg, 1.7 apg), G Saul Smith (6.7 ppg, 3.5 apg). Syracuse – FDamone Brown (10.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg), F Ryan Blackwell (11.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg), C EtanThomas (14.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg), G Jason Hart (12.2 ppg, 6.4 apg), G Tony Bland (7.0ppg, 1.8 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Kentucky – At-large bid, Southeastern Conference.Syracuse – At-large bid, Big East Conference.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Kentucky – 85-35, 42 years. Syracuse – 38-26, 26years.
