Grantland Power Poll has list of all-time best Orange teams

[thebigeast44]

I agree - it almost seems like the 2012 squad is underrated on this forum. And in my opinion that was a better team than the 2010 team. The problem was Kentucky was a definite favorite that year (with Cuse being 1B with the most legit shot to beat them), whereas there really wasn't a dominant team in 2010.

On PAPER, the 87-88 squad should have won the title...but that was a severely underachieving team. Won the BE tournament - but losing to Rhode Island in the second round was a travesty (and they had some serious What losses that year). A team with Sherman, Seikaly, Coleman, and Thompson should have won it all (that was the KU - Danny Manning year).

Sherman had the flu in the Rhode Island game. No way we lose that game if he was healthy. We'll never know what they would have done the rest of the way in that tournament. Syracuse has had a lot of bad luck in the tournament over the years. And the old cliche says you make your own luck but you can't do anything about injuries or sickness.

 

[thebigeast44]

Ah - the Illinois game in the Elite 8 still eats me up to this day. Illinois was great - but we totally had them (up 11 at one point if I remember correctly). And I think they got worn out to some degree because they went to overtime against Mizzou in the Sweet 16, and just kind of faltered at the end of that game. That's another team that could/should have won it all. There was no way that team was losing to either Seton Hall or Michigan in the FF.

I agree with you doc that we likely would have won it all if we win that game against Illinois. But I've never felt bad about that game myself. It was 2 great teams battling it out and we gave it our all. Disappointed that the season was over but no shame in losing to Illinois and proud of the team for their effort.

 

[anomander]

91 would have been the best team until Richmond got in the way.

Otherwise i'd take the 10 team.

The national championship team gets disrespected too much as not a great team. It was.

 

[AZOrange]

The 1989 teams was perhaps the most dominant of the group. Coleman, Thompson, Douglas, and Owens were an incredible collection of talent. I miss the alley-oop showtime display these guys provided game after game. Every team we played tried to slow it down because we were deadly in transition.

The starters all shot 50 percent or better that year. How we lost 8 games boggles my mind

 

[HOFCeluck]

91 would have been the best team until Richmond got in the way.

Otherwise i'd take the 10 team.

The national championship team gets disrespected too much as not a great team. It was.

It was a great team. But the teams from the late 80s, and maybe 2010, were greater.

 

[strumpfasaurus]

91 would have been the best team until Richmond got in the way.

Otherwise i'd take the 10 team.

The national championship team gets disrespected too much as not a great team. It was.

That's because the national perception of that team was one player putting the team on his back to a championship. They perceive it like the 2011 uconn team with Kemba.