College Basketball: Syracuse 72, Detroit 68: Boeheim gets No. 900
Published 12:00 am Monday, December 17, 2012
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Jim Boeheim became the third Division I men’s coach to reach 900 wins as No. 3 Syracuse beat Detroit 72-68 on Monday night in the Gotham Classic.
Boeheim, 68 and in his 37th year at his alma mater, is 900-304 and joined an elite fraternity. Mike Krzyzewski (936) and Bob Knight (902) are the only other men’s Division I coaches to win that many.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Boeheim’s college roommate, teammate and fellow Hall of Famer, and Roosevelt Bouie, a star on Boeheim’s first team in 1976-77, were in the Carrier Dome crowd of 17,902. Midway through the second half, fans were given placards featuring cardboard cutouts of Boeheim’s face with 900 wins printed on the back to celebrate.
Boeheim was presented a jersey encased in glass with 900 emblazoned on it.
“I’m happy. I’ve stayed around long enough,” Boeheim said at center court. “I was a little nervous.”
James Southerland had 22 points for Syracuse (10-0), which increased its home winning streak to 30 games, longest in the nation.
It hardly mattered that Brandon Triche, the Orange’s leading scorer, had only one point. The Orange were 6 of 10 on 3-pointers , and it seemed unlikely the Titans would deprive Boeheim of his milestone victory.
Detroit was 10 of 29 in the half and 28 of 60 for the game, finishing 3 of 18 from long range.