2009–10 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team

2009–10 Syracuse Orange men's basketball
Big East Regular Season Champions
Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceBig East Conference (1979–2013)
Ranking
CoachesNo. 8
APNo. 4
Record30–5 (15–3 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCarrier Dome
2009–10 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 4 Syracuse 15 3   .833 30 5   .857
No. 6 West Virginia 13 5   .722 31 7   .816
No. 9 Villanova 13 5   .722 25 8   .758
No. 18 Pittsburgh 13 5   .722 25 9   .735
Marquette 11 7   .611 22 12   .647
Louisville 11 7   .611 20 13   .606
No. 14 Georgetown 10 8   .556 23 11   .676
Notre Dame 10 8   .556 23 12   .657
South Florida 9 9   .500 20 13   .606
Seton Hall 9 9   .500 19 13   .594
Cincinnati 7 11   .389 19 16   .543
Connecticut 7 11   .389 18 16   .529
St. John's 6 12   .333 17 16   .515
Rutgers 5 13   .278 15 17   .469
Providence 4 14   .222 12 19   .387
DePaul 1 17   .056 8 23   .258
2010 Big East tournament winner
As of April 3, 2010
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009–10 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team represented Syracuse University in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 34th year. The team played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Key contributors included seniors Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins, juniors Rick Jackson and Wesley Johnson, sophomores Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph and freshmen Mookie Jones, DaShonte Riley, James Southerland and Brandon Triche.

Although widely expected to finish near the middle of the league, the Orange captured its eighth Big East regular season title, and second outright, as well as the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament. The team also achieved its first No. 1 ranking in the national AP Poll since the 1989-90 season, and its first in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll since winning the national championship in 2003.

The Orange failed to win the Big East tournament, falling in the quarterfinals to Georgetown, but their regular season efforts earned them a 1 seed in the West Region of the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They easily won their first and second-round games over 16 seed Vermont and 8 seed Gonzaga to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they were upset by 5 seed and AP #11 Butler to end the season 30–5.