NCAA-East

Syracuse zone levels OU

Freshman Carmelo Anthony scores 20, and defense holds Sooners to 31 percent in 63-47 win.

©Associated Press
March 31, 2003

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Carmelo Anthony cut down the net, then stuck strands underneath his new white cap that showed the next stop for Syracuse: New Orleans.

The freshman led the way, scoring 20 and adding 10 rebounds to help eliminate top-seeded Oklahoma 63-47 in the East Region final Sunday.

"This is my first time getting to the Final Four," he said, "and hopefully not my last."

"I'll second that one," coach Jim Boeheim yelled.

Whether Anthony heads for the NBA or not, he will have at least one more game in his college career.

The fans had expressed their feelings on the matter as they chanted "one more year" when it was announced that the 6-foot-8 forward was the region's most outstanding player.

With Anthony stepping up from the start and Syracuse dominating with its 2-3 zone, the Orangemen advanced to their first Final Four since 1996.

"Our defense was the difference," Boeheim said. "That was probably the best we've played defensively all year. We did a good job of getting to their shooters and making them shoot tough shots."

Third-seeded Syracuse (28-5) faces Texas, the top seed from the South Region, on Saturday. The Longhorns beat seventh-seeded Michigan State 85-76.

After slow starts in the first three games of the NCAA Tournament, Anthony came out strong, scoring 10 in the opening 12 minutes.

"Carmelo got us off to a good start for a change, and that was nice," Boeheim said, laughing.

Syracuse's zone took over from there. The Sooners (27-7) had just three points during the final 81/2 minutes of the first half as Syracuse took a 30-20 lead.

Things got worse for Oklahoma.

Syracuse scored the first eight of the second to take its biggest lead on a 3-pointer by freshman Gerry McNamara with 15:35 to play that capped a 22-3 run.

"We knew going in this was a tough matchup for us," Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson said. "I don't think we played as well as we're capable of playing, but that's neither here nor there. When you get on this stage in this setting you have to play good today."

The last time Syracuse was in the Final Four it lost to Kentucky in the championship game. The last time the Orangemen were in New Orleans for a Final Four they lost to Indiana in the 1987 championship on a jumper by Keith Smart in the final seconds.

Now, Boeheim gets another chance at the title.

"I had a tremendous experience in New Orleans for five days, 39 minutes and 56 seconds," he said. "Now I have to get that other four seconds in this time."

As the final seconds ticked off, Anthony finally looked like a freshman as he stood near midcourt jumping up and down before flinging the ball high toward the roof.

Hakim Warrick had 13 points and nine rebounds for Syracuse, which was playing 21/2 hours from its campus.

"We knew the crowd would be cheering for us since we're just two hours away," Anthony said. "We can't do anything about where the committee put us."

The Orangemen shot 52 percent from the field (25-of-48) and outrebounded Oklahoma 40-28.

De'Angelo Alexander had 14 points for Oklahoma, which was trying to get back to the Final Four and make up for last season's loss to Indiana in the semifinals.

It was especially tough for the Sooners seniors. Hollis Price and Quannas White are natives of New Orleans and were high school teammates there.

"We came so far and got so close," Price said. "We were 40 minutes from getting back and going home. Syracuse did a great job of matching up with us."

The only thing that kept the game close was Syracuse's poor free-throw shooting. The Orangemen missed eight of their first 11 in the second.

Oklahoma shot 31 percent (18-of-58), including 5-of-28 from 3-point range.

Price had eight points, all in the second, and was 3-of-17 from the field and 2-of-11 on 3-pointers.

Oklahoma missed its first seven shots of the half and committed four turnovers before Price broke the drought with a 3 with 14:58 left that made it 38-23.

Sampson tried everything to get the Sooners going against the zone. He called three timeouts in the first and a fourth with 13:35 to play.

"Zone is a relative term," Sampson said. "We hadn't seen a zone like that."

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