Jim Boeheim's team might have pulled off one of the most stunning victories of the college basketball season had it been at full strength. Instead, Syracuse's long-shot upset bid against Duke on Thursday fell apart late, as the Orange's most productive player—who just so happens to be the Hall-of-Fame coach's son—watched helplessly from the bench.
After the Blue Devils' come-from-behind 88-79 win over Syracuse on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, Boeheim ripped into the referees who failed to notice Buddy Boeheim's closed-fist punch against Florida State 24 hours earlier—an act that ultimately led to the senior being suspended versus Duke.
Jim Boeheim said the officials “didn’t do their job..They didn’t do their job so Buddy got punished.” https://t.co/IbHd92R9j7
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 10, 2022
ACC officials announced Buddy Boeheim's suspension a few hours after the Orange's 96-57 win over the Seminoles on Wednesday.
The incident in question occurred midway through the first half, as Buddy Boeheim fought for rebounding position with Florida State's Wyatt Wilkes. After absorbing hard but legal contact from Wilkes while being boxed out, the younger Boeheim responded by giving his opponent a direct shot to the midsection with his fist. Wilkes doubled over as a result, but no foul was called on the play—giving conference honchos the latitude to discipline Boeheim after the game.
Buddy Boeheim is the ACC's leading scorer this season, averaging 19.3 points per game. A senior, he's already decided against returning for one more season by way of the NCAA affording an extra year of eligibility to athletes due to COVID-19, ensuring Wednesday's game was his last in a Syracuse uniform.
Buddy Boeheim: "I never meant to throw a punch, I don’t think I’ve ever thrown a punch in my life…I never meant to intentionally hurt him…Wyatt’s a really good dude, I would never try to hurt someone. It was just an honest mistake on my part, I have to own up to that."
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 10, 2022
Buddy Boeheim's younger brother, Jimmy, picked up his slack versus the seventh-ranked Blue Devils, scoring 28 points to keep the Orange's upset hopes alive until Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams and company pulled away in the game's final minutes.
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