What was the biggest regular season win in the JB tenure?

[gilardino]

So many big wins, however he 4 mentioned stand out to me.

 

[Eric15]

IMO, 2003 Pitt without a shadow of a doubt. That was the win that made us all realize "OK, this team is something special." A close second would be those thrilling Georgetown wins from 1989 and 1990.

 

[gilardino]

Hoyas 1990 on the road turned the corner for us in over taking the Hoyas who dominated us for so long.

Kentucky was after probation, and put us back on the map, making cuse nation realize we will be just fine.

Pitt at home made the fans realize we can do this, that win started the march to the National Title.

Last night, people were questioning if this was the end for JB coaching.

 

[br801]

At Louisville, 12/4/76. Game 4 of the Boeheim era. That win signalled that SU could play with the big boys and was about to become a major player on the national scene. The program has never looked back.

 

[JOC44]

I would have picked Purdue 1980, but of the four listed went with Pitt 2003.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I would have picked Purdue 1980, but of the four listed went with Pitt 2003.

This win put us in the national conversation. Proved that 1975 was not a fluke.

 

[HOFCeluck]

You left off number two for me behind Pitt 2003 and that was @Michigan State 2003.

I believe that was the game that got the players thinking they could win it all according to a book I read once.

 

[dasher]

Michigan state with magic in 1977. Earlier in that same year, the win at New Mexico, who I think was in the top 3

 

[joct]

Georgetown 1985 at home. Pearl with the game winner on a great move. Lost 2 days earlier to #2 St John's by 1. They were #1, defending champs. They didn't lose again until title game upset against Villanova. Maybe not the biggest, but is up there somewhere on the list.

 

[Stevenson]

Georgetown 1985 at home. Pearl with the game winner on a great move. Lost 2 days earlier to #2 St John's by 1. They were #1, defending champs. They didn't lose again until title game upset against Villanova. Maybe not the biggest, but is up there somewhere on the list.

Agreed. And I was there.

 

[Briancuse]

Pitt 03 last night would be right up there.

 

[orange79]

Maybe not the biggest win, but certainly the first big win- Louisville 1976. JB's first year as HC, SU traveled to Louisville. We were listening to the game on WAER (years before almost every game was televised). Near the end of the game, the clock went out, and I was sure we were going to get screwed by some Louisiville home cooking. But SU pulled out the game 76-75 (IIRC). Game that put JB on the map.

 

[NYCorange]

My favorite regular season win would have to be at #1 Louisville in 2013. MCWs steal and jam to win it over Gorgui Deng.

 

[MikeDamone]

It's not the biggest, but the win at home over Nova in 2010 that sealed our first #1 ranking in the regular season in 20 years was a massive win.

 

[djcon57]

Pitt won gave us Albany, which helped us win title. So Pitt.

 

[HOFCeluck]

It’s hard for me to rank the win last night without the context of the regular season. Part of the reason why I think the Pitt and MSU wins are so big is because it set the stage for what happened later. I honestly think I’d rank the Duke wins in 14 and 17 higher if the seasons had ended better.

 

[IthacaMatt]

So many big wins, however he 4 mentioned stand out to me.

Historically?

To me, the biggest game was early in JB's tenure, when Louie & Bouie beat Purdue at Purdue with Joe Barry Carroll at center. National TV. I think Purdue was #2 in the nation at the time. That game announced us as a national program, showing that the 1975 Final Four appearance was not a total fluke.

I think another huge game for our program was beating St. John's at the Garden, at the end of Pearl's freshman year. Pearl had all this hype, and his freshman year we played North Carolina (#1 with Worthy and Jordan?), Marquette, Oklahoma, Georgetown, Villanova, and we lost to them all. Where's the beef?

But then, toward the end of the year, a couple games before the post-season, we went down to the Garden and beat the Mullin team by a bucket. To me, that meant that with Pearl we could compete with the behemoths of the still new Big East.

 

[orange79]

To me, the biggest game was early in JB's tenure, when Louie & Bouie beat Purdue at Purdue with Joe Barry Carroll at center. National TV. I think Purdue was #2 in the nation at the time. That game announced us as a national program, showing that the 1975 Final Four appearance was not a total fluke.

As I recall, that was the first game JB played Bouie and Schayes together for any significant amount of time. In this case, in an attempt to neutralize JBC.

 

[dasher]

Maybe not the biggest win, but certainly the first big win- Louisville 1976. JB's first year as HC, SU traveled to Louisville. We were listening to the game on WAER (years before almost every game was televised). Near the end of the game, the clock went out, and I was sure we were going to get screwed by some Louisiville home cooking. But SU pulled out the game 76-75 (IIRC). Game that put JB on the map.

Forgot all about that one. Yes. griffin missed at the buzzer

 

[Lucid]

How this win against Duke ultimately ranks will depend totally on if it becomes a turning point in a great season, or just a big one-off win in a mediocre season.

Who is this team, really? I don't think they knew themselves until Monday night. Now they do.

At least, that's my hope. Keep the popcorn close and we'll see.

 

[OrangePA]

At Louisville, 12/4/76. Game 4 of the Boeheim era. That win signalled that SU could play with the big boys and was about to become a major player on the national scene. The program has never looked back.

You read my mind!

That to me is the most important Boeheim win.

It did indeed transform SU BB into a national program.

Really good call!

 

[Scott11]

I think the '89 OT win versus Georgetown at home deserves serious consideration. Think of the combined talent on the floor at that game. Also the punctuation mark reverse dunk by Sherman was so fantastic, who had any idea he could dunk like that?
Thompson embarrassing himself also was fantastic. What an overrated fraud. But I digress.
Of those on the list I'd go with the Pittsburgh game because it had a part in the championship and how much better is all of our lives given that we won it all that year? Or conversely how much would it suck if we were still looking for our first?

 

[General20]

Can we define biggest? Do we mean the win against the beset team? Or the win that somehow helped the program the most? I'm not sure any of the games listed above fit either of those categories.

Lets start with wins over the best teams.

In my opinion the 1999 UConn team was maybe the best team in college basketball history. They only had 2 losses that year and would have gone undefeated if not for injuries. One of those 2 losses was to Syracuse.

The 2013 Louisville team was #1 in the country when we trounced them on the road, and they went on to win the National Championship that year.

The 2004 UConn team had to be one of the best ever and we beat them too.

SU also beat the 2011 national champion UConn team, but don't think they would count as one of the biggest wins, just going over national champions we have beaten in my mind.

SU beat 1985 champion Villanova, but like the 2011 UConn team I wouldn't call that an all time great win.

What might be an all time great win was SU's win against the 1985 Georgetown team with Patrick Ewing which was clearly the best team in the country and ranked #1, even though they lost in the title game.

If we are looking for the games that did the most good for the SU program the first one that comes to mind is the 6 OT game. There are some wins that got SU off the bubble but its hard to give full credit for a tournament birth to any one win. Maybe the 2010 win against Villanova who I think was a top 5 team that pushed Syracuse to #1 in the country? Hard to compete with that 6 overtime game though.

 

[Sherman20]

Historically?

To me, the biggest game was early in JB's tenure, when Louie & Bouie beat Purdue at Purdue with Joe Barry Carroll at center. National TV. I think Purdue was #2 in the nation at the time. That game announced us as a national program, showing that the 1975 Final Four appearance was not a total fluke.

I think another huge game for our program was beating St. John's at the Garden, at the end of Pearl's freshman year. Pearl had all this hype, and his freshman year we played North Carolina (#1 with Worthy and Jordan?), Marquette, Oklahoma, Georgetown, Villanova, and we lost to them all. Where's the beef?

But then, toward the end of the year, a couple games before the post-season, we went down to the Garden and beat the Mullin team by a bucket. To me, that meant that with Pearl we could compete with the behemoths of the still new Big East.

Great memory and definitely could be under consideration.

 

[Sherman20]

How this win against Duke ultimately ranks will depend totally on if it becomes a turning point in a great season, or just a big one-off win in a mediocre season.

Who is this team, really? I don't think they knew themselves until Monday night. Now they do.

At least, that's my hope. Keep the popcorn close and we'll see.

Agreed. I really think this is a huge confidence boost for them, which will hopefully help their shooting numbers. Especially huge for Frank Howard, who is hopefully on his way back to last years form, and for chukwu.