Syracuse basketball once shocked Houston and its future Hall of Famers

When Syracuse and Houston square off this evening in one of nine opening day games in the 2025 Player's Era Festival in Las Vegas (6:00 p.m. ET / TNT), it will mark just the third meeting between the schools on the hardwood (see note below).

The last time the team's faced-off turned out to be the 88th, and final NCAA game that Jim Boeheim coached in his legendary career. It was also the Orange program's last appearance in the tourney, a Sweet 16 round game on March 27, 2021, the Pandemic Tournament, played entirely in Indianapolis.

The Cougars defense dominated in that NCAA victory, holding the 'Cuse to just 28% shooting, and a red-hot Buddy Boeheim to just 12 points in a 62-46 victory.

But defense was not at the forefront when the two schools first faced off 43 seasons ago, December 11, 1983, a CBS regional telecast with announcers Gary Bender and Billy Packer, also a game we covered courtside as a budding reporter for WSYR Radio. (The Dome basketball floor was still the old, unfriendly Tartan surface, two seasons before a portable hardwood floor became the staple.)

The members of Phi Slama Jama visit the 'Triplets' on the Syracuse campus

When ninth-ranked Houston headed to central New York for its intersectional, made-for-TV game in the Big East's early days, the name Phi Slama Jama was just starting to take hold, but was nowhere near the famous place it holds today in college basketball history.

The Cougars were only ranked 11/14 in the 1982 preseason polls, led by future Hall of Fame coach Guy Lewis, and entered the Dome 5-0 averaging 88-points a game. SU also came into the contest 5-0 off a Carrier Classic title against Princeton, destined to end a two-season streak of not making the NCAA Tournament. Sound somewhat familiar?

In a fast-paced, back and forth affair between teams that liked to race up and down the court, SU led 42-40 at halftime. The undersized Orangemen were led by outstanding senior tri-captains Tony 'Red' Bruin (26 points/9 rebounds), Leo Rautins (see below), and Erich Santifer (22 points), along with reserve sophomore Sean Kerins (13 points/7 boards) and freshman Rafael Addison 6 points).

Playing in front of a throbbing Dome crowd of just under 20,000, which was large for early in the season of just the building's third year as home to hoops, SU led by as many as seven points in the second half, getting Drexler and Olajuwon into foul trouble, and put the game away hitting free throws.

Rautins, in particular, was all over the court. He finished one rebound shy of a triple -double (15 points/9 rebounds/10 assists) in the win over UH, and ironically one month later would go on to achieve the feat, becoming the first Big East player with a triple-double in a January 10, 1983 loss against Georgetown.

Drexler was magnificent with his high-flying athleticism on display, despite playing much of the second half with four fouls. He finished with a game-high 28 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. A frustrated Olajuwon was held in check by center Andre Hawkins and Kerins underneath, finishing with 6 points/9 rebounds.

Houston would drop its next game after Syracuse, to Ralph Sampson and Virginia in Tokyo, Japan of all places. Then the Cougars reeled off 29 straight victories on route to the NCAA title game, and the famous last-second 54-52 loss to Jim Valvano's miracle Wolfpack team to finish a 31-3 season.

Syracuse would finish 21-10 and return to the NCAA Tournament in 1983, but with a chance to return to the Dome for the East Regional, instead fell to Ohio State 79-74 in a second-round game.

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