Quarter of a centurt later, SU loss still "Smarts" (fixed link address)

[Scott Pitoniak]

Syracuse fans will have to brace themselves tonight for a barrage or replays and mentions of how the Orangemen were out-Smarted in the 1987 NCAA championship game.

Of course, the instant Indiana secured its Sweet 16 matchup against SU last Sunday, the name Keith Smart popped into every long-time Syracuse fan’s head. A quarter-century later Smart’s dagger-in-the-heart corner jumper continues to haunt citizens of Orange Nation.

I’ve covered SU basketball for 37 years and have followed the program since the days when Jim Boeheim was a gangly, bespectacled player who had the good sense of finding open spaces, so the double- and tripled-teamed Dave Bing would have a passing option.

And I still contend that ’86-87 team was the best SU hoops squad I’ve covered, definitely superior to the 2002-03 club that won the NCAA title.

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