Season Recap in January Syracuse started the season strong, winning the CBE Classic. In the semifinals on November 24, 2008, the Orange topped No. 17/18
Florida, 89–83. Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris led five SU players in double figures with 18 points each. In the finals on November 25, 2008, Syracuse defeated the defending champions, the No. 22/23
Kansas Jayhawks, 89–81 in overtime, to capture the
CBE Classic. Jonny Flynn had 25 points, including a 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Flynn was named MVP of the tournament. But the season would hit a low point on December 15, 2008 when then-No. 11 Syracuse lost to unranked
Cleveland State University 72–69 as a result of a 60-foot, buzzer-beating shot by Cleveland State's Cedric Jackson. Syracuse would add another key non-conference win on December 20, 2008, when then-No. 11 Syracuse won a key away game against national runner-up
Memphis as Syracuse's stifling zone held Memphis to just 7-for-33 shooting from 3-point land. Flynn paced the Orange with 24 points and six assists, as Syracuse was able to deal with the loss of
Eric Devendorf to a suspension after he was accused of hitting a female student on Nov. 1. Perhaps the biggest game of the season happened on March 12–13, 2009, when then-No. 18 Syracuse and No. 4
Connecticut played the
longest game in Big East history, and second longest in NCAA Division I history, as Syracuse won 127–117 in six overtimes. Flynn set a new Syracuse record by playing 67 minutes. Syracuse would be named a No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament and win games over
Stephen F. Austin (59–44) and
Arizona State (78–67) to advance to the Sweet 16. But the Orange would be halted by
Blake Griffin and
Oklahoma in an 84–71 loss. The loss would mark the final game for Devendorf, Flynn and Harris, who all left the team following the season for the professional ranks.
Big East tournament Syracuse was seeded sixth and received a bye in the first round. They reached the finals of the 2009 tournament, where they were defeated by the first-seeded
Louisville Cardinals, 76–66. It was their fourteenth time making the Big East tournament finals, the most for any team in the conference. Prior to making the finals, Syracuse's performance featured a conference record
six-overtime quarterfinals game (the second longest game in NCAA history) in which they defeated third-seeded
Connecticut 127–117. A day later, in the semifinals, the Orange were forced into overtime again, where they defeated
West Virginia 74–69 in a single extra session.
Jonny Flynn was named the tournament's
most outstanding player, becoming just the fourth player in Big East tournament history to win the award as a member of the second-place team. The Orange won, 59–44. They faced sixth-seeded
Arizona State in the second round, winning 78–67. Their season ended in the South regional semifinals when they lost 84–71 to
Oklahoma. ==Schedule==