# 1990–91 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

The 1990–91 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University in the 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 15th year. The team played home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 26–6 (12–4) record, was Big East regular season champions, and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
The team was led by Big East Player of the Year Billy Owens and senior LeRon Ellis.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Nov 23, 1990* | No. 13 | vs. Toledo Maui Invitational Quarterfinals | W 84–68 | 1–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 24, 1990* | No. 13 | vs. Iowa State Maui Invitational Semifinals | W 83–67 | 2–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 25, 1990* | No. 13 | vs. No. 8 Indiana Maui Invitational Championship | W 77–74 | 3–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Dec 1, 1990* | No. 7 | Cornell | W 86–61 | 4–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 4, 1990* | No. 4 | NC State ACC–Big East Challenge | W 86–79 | 5–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 7, 1990* | No. 4 | Alaska-Anchorage Carrier Classic | W 103–85 | 6–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 8, 1990* | No. 4 | UNC Charlotte Carrier Classic | W 113–99 | 7–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 12, 1990* | No. 3 | Canisius | W 92–83 | 8–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 15, 1990* | No. 3 | Long Beach State | W 94–79 | 9–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 20, 1990* | No. 3 | vs. Towson State | W 78–73 | 10–0 | Hersheypark Arena Hershey, PA |
| Dec 22, 1990* | No. 3 | Illinois-Chicago | W 110–66 | 11–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 29, 1990* | No. 3 | Wagner | W 101–55 | 12–0 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 2, 1991* | No. 3 | No. 9 St. John's | W 92–86 | 13–0 (1–0) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 5, 1991* | No. 3 | Villanova | L 66–76 | 13–1 (1–1) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 7, 1991* | No. 3 | at No. 11 Pittsburgh | L 79–93 | 13–2 (1–2) | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 12, 1991* | No. 8 | at Seton Hall | W 69–67 | 14–2 (2–2) | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, NJ |
| Jan 16, 1991* | No. 8 | No. 13 Connecticut | W 81–79 | 15–2 (3–2) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 19, 1991* | No. 8 | No. 25 Seton Hall | W 78–64 | 16–2 (4–2) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 21, 1991* | No. 8 | at No. 19 Georgetown | W 58–56 | 17–2 (5–2) | Capital Centre Landover, MD |
| Jan 26, 1991* | No. 6 | at Providence | L 82–92 | 17–3 (5–3) | Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI |
| Jan 28, 1991* | No. 6 | at No. 19 Connecticut | W 68–66 | 18–3 (6–3) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| Feb 2, 1991* | No. 8 | Boston College | W 99–87 | 19–3 (7–3) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 9, 1991* | No. 7 | at Notre Dame | W 70–69 | 20–3 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN |
| Feb 12, 1991* | No. 7 | Providence | W 101–83 | 21–3 (8–3) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 16, 1991* | No. 7 | at Boston College | W 106–85 | 22–3 (9–3) | Silvio O. Conte Forum Boston, MA |
| Feb 18, 1991* | No. 7 | Florida State | W 88–79 | 23–3 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 20, 1991* | No. 5 | at No. 18 St. John's | L 72–77 | 23–4 (9–4) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Feb 24, 1991* | No. 5 | No. 22 Pittsburgh | W 89–68 | 24–4 (10–4) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 26, 1991* | No. 6 | at Villanova | W 77–63 | 25–4 (11–4) | The Pavilion Philadelphia, PA |
| Mar 3, 1991* | No. 6 | Georgetown | W 62–58 | 26–4 (12–4) | Carrier Dome (33,048) Syracuse, NY |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 1991* | (1) No. 4 | vs. (8) Villanova Big East tournament Quarterfinal | L 68–70 | 26–5 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1991* | (2 E) No. 7 | vs. (15 E) Richmond First round | L 69–73 | 26–6 | Cole Field House College Park, MD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in EST. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 13 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
| Coaches | 16 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 8 |

## Awards and honors

* Billy Owens – Big East Player of the Year

## 1991 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 3 | Billy Owens | Sacramento Kings |
| 1 | 22 | LeRon Ellis | Los Angeles Clippers |