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Five Marches ago, Tyler Lydon’s childhood basketball dreams reached fruition. As a kid, Lydon had two dreams: play for a big school in the NCAA Tournament, and win the national championship. Of course, he had NBA aspirations. But collegiate success, which eventually unfolded in the form of playing for Syracuse during the team’s improbable 2016 Final Four run, came first.

“My dreams were coming true right in front of my eyes,” Lydon said. “To be in the Final Four with 70,000 fans is the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced.”

The unlikely NCAA Tournament run in 2016 started with a 9-9 regular-season conference record. But the Orange were able to secure a No. 10 seed and upset No. 7 Dayton, and then went on to beat No. 15 Middle Tennessee and then No. 11 Gonzaga. But the Orange’s signature win came in an upset win over No. 1 seed Virginia, one where head coach Jim Boeheim’s team came back and used a 21-6 run to close out the game. 

“I mean, I thought we deserved to be in the tournament,” Boeheim said after the game. “But I certainly didn’t — I wasn’t planning on getting to the Final Four.”

Johnny Oliver, 2015-16 Otto’s Army vice president, remembers exactly where he was sitting the day of that game. He remembers Malachi Richardson leading the Orange back from their 14-point, second-half deficit. Most of all, he remembers that against the Cavaliers — a team that never blew leads — SU “defied all odds.” 

“The night that they beat UVA, outside of getting married and getting engaged, I would say that was the best night of my life,” Oliver said.

With just under five minutes remaining, Tyler Roberson set an off-ball screen for Richardson. Richardson ran by the pick, caught the pass beyond the 3-point line and used a quick dribble move to create separation. He splashed the 3, capping off an isolation play that Richardson’s former coach Dave Boff said he’d seen over and over again in the years prior at Roselle Catholic (N.J.) High School. 

“That was just kind of surreal,” Boff said. “I just remember saying to my wife ‘You know, that’s almost the exact shot that he made to seal the state championship game.’”

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Looking back on Syracuse’s 2016 men’s basketball run to the Final Four

• Michael Gbinije’s career comes to screeching, unfitting halt in Final Four
• Jim Boeheim: ‘I’m happier now at the end of this year than any time I’ve ever coached’
• Trevor Cooney uses one last shot to write his own ending
• The Final Four fan bus reaches the end of a long road
• Dougherty: This wasn’t supposed to happen for Syracuse basketball, but then it did

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Boff coached both Richardson and Roberson to the New Jersey State Championship in 2013 against a team headlined by current Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns. Boff followed his former players all season, but when Syracuse began its run to the Final Four, he noticed that the entire school community — from current players to coaches to alums — began to watch SU games and cheer Richardson and Roberson on.

Fans gathered at the Sun Tavern, a pizzeria and restaurant in Roselle Park, New Jersey, to watch the games. The further SU went, the more fans that came. Boff texted both players during the tournament and sent photos of the Sun Tavern to show them their fanbase from home. All through the tournament, Boff paid special attention to Roberson’s defensive and rebounding impact for Syracuse — the more underappreciated parts of the game — just like he did back at Roselle Catholic. 

“Those guys were kind of like folk heroes to a lot of alums (because) they were the first (team) that won a state championship,” Boff said. “It was just amazing to see those two guys come together for another run at the college level.”

Syracuse’s unlikely NCAA Tournament run to the Final Four started with a 9-9 conference record during the regular season. Courtesy of Stephen D. Cannerelli | Syracuse.com

No. 10-seed Syracuse’s fairytale run ended against No. 1 North Carolina at NRG Stadium in Houston, but it happened with three buses worth of SU students watching. A motion passed by the student government provided students the opportunity to go on a 32-hour bus ride to Houston, one which Otto’s Army treasurer Brian Greenwood was on, too.

Greenwood said he remembers the line for the bus tickets stretching from the Schine Box Office all the way to Goldstein Auditorium — there were about 155 students by 7:30 a.m. and 225 total that morning. Because of an 8 a.m. class, Greenwood was one of the first to get a ticket with his being the first seat in the first row. Still, the ride was far from good. They stopped only for restrooms and food breaks, leftover food packaging littered the grounds, and students couldn’t shower so “the smell was the worst.” 

But after they arrived, Greenwood said SU’s student section was better than the other Final Four schools — after all, the Orange had traveled the farthest. Greenwood said he remembers being at the edge of the barrier above ground level and seeing Joe Biden and other celebrities there, too. 

“There was a lot of passion in that game,” Greenwood said. “It was pretty ruckus in the student section.”

That year, Syracuse returned to the Final Four just three years after making it as a No. 4 seed. Former Syracuse player Michael Gbinije wasn’t able to play in 2013 due to NCAA guidelines — he thought he missed his shot at playing in a Final Four. But Gbinije got his chance, averaging 17.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in the 2015-16 season. 

Syracuse upset No. 1-seed Virginia to advance to the Final Four by recovering from a 16-point deficit in the second half. Courtesy of Stephen D. Cannerelli | Syracuse.com

“For me to be able to do it my senior year is just icing on the cake for my time at Syracuse,” Gbinije said. 

Against the Tar Heels, the Orange made a run late, decreasing a 17-point deficit due to a 10-0 run from Richardson and Trevor Cooney. But, after a final 3 from Richardson to make it just a seven-point game, North Carolina went on its own run to send SU home. 

Oliver wasn’t on the bus ride home — he flew instead — but said that those on the bus told him the scene was somber. Students were disappointed, but also “had a lot of pride just that (SU) made it to the tournament and showed adversity.” 

“Syracuse was able to battle through the gauntlet and even though they lost it, they had an incredible run,” Oliver said.

Published on April 4, 2021 at 10:14 pm

Contact Gaurav: gshetty@syr.edu