Four days after Syracuse lost in the national semifinals of the NCAA tournament, star point guard Michael Carter-Williams has decided to enter the NBA draft.
A high-intensity, player-driven practice on the day clocks sprang forward recharged the Orange after a Big East slide and helped the East Region champions earn a trip to Atlanta.
The Orange held top-seeded Georgetown (25-6) to 22 percent shooting from 3-point range with their trademark 2-3 zone and got a big game from their bench to avenge two previous losses to the Hoyas this season.
Porter's incredible play stopped the Orange's 38-game winning streak in the Carrier Dome, the longest in Division I, and it came in front of a disappointed record crowd of 35,012, the largest ever to see a college basketball on campus. It was the fewest points scored by Syracuse in the Carrier Dome.
The Cardinals' focus now is on reclaiming the top spot and holding on when it matters — through the season's end in April — after falling to No. 6 Syracuse 70-68 on Saturday.
With his wife, Juli, looking on at the postgame press conference and his young children close by, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim's final remarks were not about his milestone 900th career victory.
Jim Boeheim looks and sounds about as weary as a person can be with all that's been going on around his Syracuse program. But at least the Hall of Fame coach has something to sleep on this weekend.
George Washington is Syracuse's latest victim, getting overpowered by the Orange's zone defense and failing to take care of the basketball.
Dion Waiters had 19 points and six steals, both career highs, and No. 3 Syracuse beat George Washington with ease, 85-50, on Saturday night.
