The group of former Syracuse players playing in The Basketball Tournament lost to the Untouchables and are eliminated from the competition with a $2 million grand prize. To make matters worse, the Untouchables are made up of a very familiar, pain-in-the-butt opponent for Syracuse fans; former Pitt players.
Pitt has been an absolute nightmare for Jim Boeheim and Syracuse, winning the last five match-ups, including knocking the Orange out of the ACC tournament this past March. Apparently, this curse carries over to alumni playing in the Basketball Tournamnet. The Untouchables, led by Jermaine Dixon’s 22 points, downed Boeheim’s Army 91-84. Dixon played at Pitt during the 2008-09 season after standing out in Junior College. He started at point guard against Syracuse in Pitt’s win over the Orange in January of 2009.
The Untouchables took a familiar approach to beating a Syracuse team. They launched three pointer after three pointer. The Pitt team took 31 three pointers and drained 13 of them. Dixon hit four of six from beyond the arc and Antonio Graves, who played  for the Panthers from 2003-06, hit four of seven.
Eric Devendorf led Beoheim’s Army, finishing with 18 points while going 4 of 12 from the field. However, he hit 8 out of is 9 free throw attempts. The rest of Boeheim’s Army went 12 out of 21 from the charity stripe. Some things never change.
Of course there was a significant monetary prize on the line, but this tournament, yet again, just provided a good time for players and fans alike. There was certainly strong support for the Syracuse team as they played their games in Philadelphia, a hotbed for Syracuse fans despite being the hometown of one of the Orange’s biggest rivals.
This tournament provided a great opportunity for Orange fans to reminisce and cheer for their favorite players of the past, while feeling like it was basketball season again; their favorite time of year. Surely, Syracuse fans will be looking forward to seeing who comes out for Boeheim’s Army next summer. Until then, they will have to brood over another lose to Pitt. Maybe Tyler Ennis will come out next summer and help Boehiem’s Army get revenge.
