Each Thursday over the summer, The Juice Online will be counting down the top 10 moments in the 2012-13 basketball season. We continue our countdown with No. 8, Georgetown losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
WHAT HAPPENED: One of the best moments of the Syracuse basketball season came in a game that the Orange didn’t play in.
Orange fans, along with the rest of America, rooted for first-time NCAA entry Florida Gulf Coast University, who became just the seventh No. 15 seed in history to topple a No. 2 seed.
Behind 24 points from Sherwood Brown and several gravity defying dunks, the Eagles defeated Georgetown, 78-68.
» Related: Syracuse’s Final Four appearance is our No. 9 pick
The Hoyas were badly outplayed in the second half, as the Eagles went on a 21-2 run. They also made Big East Player of the Year Otto Porter into a non factor. He finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, but went 5 for 17 from the field.
The highlight of the game (and perhaps the entire NCAA tournament) came late in the second half. Point guard Brett Comer (12 points and 10 assists) led a fast break and threw an alley-oop pass to Chase Fieler that looked like it was way too high for Fieler to catch.
It wasn’t.
Fieler threw down a vicious one-handed jam, bringing the Philadelphia crowd to its feet, and the Hoyas to their knees.
FGCU would defeat San Diego State in the NCAA tournament’s third round before the Eagles were ultimately defeated by Florida in the Sweet 16.
» Related: Mock draft has MCW going to Kings
WHY IT’S NO. 8: Syracuse fans can revel in this one for quite some time. When the regular season ended, it seemed like the Hoyas would have the last laugh in SU’s final Big East season. Georgetown had won both regular season matchups against the Orange, the last coming on a humiliating 61-39 defeat in Washington, DC. But the Orange defeated their hated rival in the Big East tournament, and it sparked the Orange to a Final Four run. Meanwhile, Georgetown couldn’t make it out of the second round.
The game also catapulted head coach Andy Enfield to stardom, and following the season, he accepted the head coaching job at USC. So double thanks to FGCU for not only humiliating Georgetown, but also preventing Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins (who had interviewed for the USC position) from leaving the Orange.
Check in next week as we reveal No. 7 on our countdown. Also Tweet us your memories from this game, or leave your comments below. And remember, it’s 3:41 p.m. and…
For more Syracuse coverage, Like our Facebook page and follow us @TheJuiceOnline.
