ALBANY – Syracuse freshman Carmelo Anthony pulled a veteran move when he saw the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee had placed the Orangemen in the East Region.
“I cut my phone off,” said Anthony. “I didn’t want to hear about tickets.”
Auburn should have such worries. The 10th-seeded Tigers (22-11) will get an earful today when they face the third-seeded Orangemen in Pepsi Arena in a Sweet 16 game meeting. The only other school that has as great a homecourt advantage in this round is Texas, which plays in San Antonio.
“Nothing in life is fair,” said Auburn swingman Derrick Bird.
How’s this for unfair? Syracuse is a two-hour drive from Albany. The Orangemen (26-5) were unbeatable at home, going 17-0 in the Carrier Dome for the first time ever. The largest crowd to see the Orangemen was 33,071 who crammed in for the regular-season finale against Rutgers. Pepsi Arena seats 16,000, most of which will be filled by fans of the Orange Nation.
“This team has taken the floor with a number of fans against them,” said Auburn coach Cliff Ellis. “They’re going to need to use that. This is an Eastern power in Syracuse, a traditional Eastern power. It’s going to be like playing Duke in Charlotte.”
To hear Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim tell it, his Orangemen will have no advantage. He wondered where the Syracuse fans were last week in nearby Boston when the Orangemen fell behind Oklahoma State by 17 points in the first half.
“That’s almost irrelevant,” Boeheim said of the location. “We had the majority of the fans in Boston. When it was 27-10 I didn’t see those fans helping us too much. If you don’t play well, the fans aren’t going to help you at all.”
Syracuse is seeking help from within. In winning its first two games in Boston, Anthony and Gerry McNamara showed signs of playing in their first-ever NCAA Tournament. Both will have to play better against an Auburn team that not many seem to know or care about.
Marquis Daniels, the SEC Player of the Year, leads the Tigers.
Anthony was the Big East Freshman of the Year. On Ebay, tickets for this regional final were selling for more than $1,300.
“I know all the students are all hyped up and I know the community is revved up, so we should have a good following,” said Syracuse swingman Kueth Duany. “Everyone I know is trying to get tickets.”
