Underdog Orangemen Not Fazed By Hostile Environment
3/22/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 22, 2000
By JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Preston Shumpert has a few words for all those bandwagon-riding experts who expect Michigan State to beat Syracuse.
"You've got to watch out for those underdogs," said Shumpert, who sent Syracuse into the round of 16 with a game-winning jumper Saturday against Kentucky in the final minute of play. "People expect them to win, so we really don't have any pressure on us. We're just going out and playing with reckless abandon."
The fourth-seeded Orangemen (26-5) will have a hostile crowd to cope with. The game Thursday night against the top-seeded Spartans (28-7) is at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich., a short drive from the Michigan State campus.
"I think it's an advantage for them a little bit because they're playing in their home state," said Syracuse point guard Jason Hart, whose family is from Michigan. "But once we step on the court and the game starts, it should be an even match as far as intensity, and that's the way games are decided."
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is trying to lead the Orangemen back to the Final Four for the second time in five years.
"We're playing the game where they tell us to play it," Boeheim said. "We're going to go out and play. We're not worried about something we can't control."
Syracuse has defeated Samford 79-65 and Kentucky 52-50 so far in the Midwest Regional. Iowa State (31-4) faces UCLA (21-11) in the other regional semifinal on Thursday night.
"I said from the beginning that this is a tough bracket," Boeheim said. "The way UCLA and Iowa State are playing, it looks to me like the four best teams got to the finals of this region, and I don't think that can be said anyplace else. We've got a tough road."
For sure. The Spartans, led by point guard Mateen Cleaves, are on a seven-game winning streak, with tournament victories over Valparaiso (65-38) and Utah (73-61). Since the start of the new year, they are 19-3 and playing as well as any team in the country.
This, however, is not the regular season.
"Everybody understands it's a one-game situation," said Hart, whose job will be to neutralize Cleaves. "The pressure isn't just on us. It's on them as well. They're supposed to do it. We're just going to be right here as a stumbling block."
Syracuse is coming off a struggle against Kentucky. The Orangemen, who had to play much of the second half without center Etan Thomas because of foul trouble, were just 20-of-63 from the field (32 percent) and 4-of-21 on 3-pointers.
"We shot pretty bad," said Shumpert, the only Syracuse player to finish in double figures with 12. "Sometimes that's going to happen. We've just got to try to look forward to the next game and try to get that out of our minds."
Because Michigan State is soaring and Syracuse has gone 7-5 since starting the season with a flourish, the Spartans are favored. That suits Syracuse just fine.
"People are picking Michigan State to win it all. That doesn't matter," Syracuse senior forward Ryan Blackwell said. "All the records from the past are thrown out. We weren't 19-0 and one of the top four teams in the country (in January) for no reason. We have high expectations."
"I don't really feel we're underdogs," Hart added. "I think a lot of people say it because of our seeding. Early in the year we were playing just as good as they are now, so I don't feel we're overmatched. Pound for pound, we're just as good as they are."