The 1981 NIT final

[SWC75]

This game came up on the Jim Boeheim Show Thursday night. They wondered if we'd ever begun a half with more than 11 straight 'makes' and I remembered we'd hit our first 16 second half shots against Michigan in the NIT quarters in the Dome. I mentioned we got hosed by the refs in the final or we would have won the NIT, which back then was a more significant tournament than it is now. Jim said the reason we lost was that Danny Schayes got injured in the pre-game shoot-around. We were both right.

Danny injured his foot stepping on a ball during the shoot-around for the semi-final game against Purdue, which we won:
Story of why Jim Boeheim doesn’t hold morning shootarounds
"Schayes played that night, as he described it, “on one-and-a-half legs’,’ and Syracuse outlasted Purdue 70-63 to advance to the NIT championship game against Tulsa. “It just got more and more sore,’’ Schayes said. “By the Tulsa game, I could barely get up and down. I was pretty useless for that one.’’

The box score: Syracuse vs Tulsa March 25 1981 NIT Championship
Note that the Tulsa totals are wrong We got called for 31 fouls in that game and 3 guys fouled out, (I had thought it was four), with two other guys getting 4 fouls and two other guys getting three. If you add up the individual totals, they were 30 for 38 from the line to our 12 for 18. They were called for 19 fouls as the comments below say. Danny Schayes played 21 minutes before fouling out. but had only 4 points and 4 rebounds. There were some great individual games, despite all the fouls: Eric had 29 points and 9 rebounds, (he was 6-4). Tony bruin scored 25. Leo Rautins was 2 rebs from a triple-double and freshman Gene Waldron was pressed into service and scored 19. Paul Pressey had a game-high 34 points for Tulsa and Greg Stewart had 23 points and 11 rebounds. If the refs had given us an even shot, we'd have won it and remembered it as one of our greatest games.

I seem to recall that Digger Phelps was doing the commentary on that game, (Notre Dame's season was over), and maybe Len Berman the play-by-play and they both said after the game that it was too bad that such a great game was decided by the referees, not the players.

 

[LoveShack]

I remember this game and how piss off I was afterwards. Looking at the box score I find it hard to believe both teams scored in the 80's and there was only a total of 6 points in the overtime period. Sometime soon when I want some extra misery in my life I gonna have to go back and watch this game again (if it can be found out there anywhere. I won't be too disappointed if its not)

 

[rrlbees]

I was at that game. Pissed me off. Even lost a bet I made with a Tulsa fan in our section.

 

[Sherman20]

This game came up on the Jim Boeheim Show Thursday night. They wondered if we'd ever begun a half with more than 11 straight 'makes' and I remembered we'd hit our first 16 second half shots against Michigan in the NIT quarters in the Dome. I mentioned we got hosed by the refs in the final or we would have won the NIT, which back then was a more significant tournament than it is now. Jim said the reason we lost was that Danny Schayes got injured in the pre-game shoot-around. We were both right.

Danny injured his foot stepping on a ball during the shoot-around for the semi-final game against Purdue, which we won:
Story of why Jim Boeheim doesn’t hold morning shootarounds
"Schayes played that night, as he described it, “on one-and-a-half legs’,’ and Syracuse outlasted Purdue 70-63 to advance to the NIT championship game against Tulsa. “It just got more and more sore,’’ Schayes said. “By the Tulsa game, I could barely get up and down. I was pretty useless for that one.’’

The box score: Syracuse vs Tulsa March 25 1981 NIT Championship
Note that the Tulsa totals are wrong We got called for 31 fouls in that game and 3 guys fouled out, (I had thought it was four), with two other guys getting 4 fouls and two other guys getting three. If you add up the individual totals, they were 30 for 38 from the line to our 12 for 18. They were called for 19 fouls as the comments below say. Danny Schayes played 21 minutes before fouling out. but had only 4 points and 4 rebounds. There were some great individual games, despite all the fouls: Eric had 29 points and 9 rebounds, (he was 6-4). Tony bruin scored 25. Leo Rautins was 2 rebs from a triple-double and freshman Gene Waldron was pressed into service and scored 19. Paul Pressey had a game-high 34 points for Tulsa and Greg Stewart had 23 points and 11 rebounds. If the refs had given us an even shot, we'd have won it and remembered it as one of our greatest games.

I seem to recall that Digger Phelps was doing the commentary on that game, (Notre Dame's season was over), and maybe Len Berman the play-by-play and they both said after the game that it was too bad that such a great game was decided by the referees, not the players.

That was the same year we won the Big East tourney championship at the Dome in triple OT against Nova on Leo’s tip-in. But there was no Big East auto bid!

 

[kuethstheman]

That was the same year we won the Big East tourney championship at the Dome in triple OT against Nova on Leo’s tip-in. But there was no Big East auto bid!

No. First year of the conference so it didn't qualify for an automatic bid yet.

 

[ar inj]

I too was at that game. I kept thinking they woud win and they kept fouling out our players. Ugh.

 

[85SUAlum]

I remember that game. It was my freshman year and I remember a bunch of us were crowded around a small B&W TV in one of the dorm rooms in Flint Hall. Frustrating loss.