Wes Johnson hadn’t given much thought to playing at Madison Square Garden. The junior transfer from Iowa State played basketball and grew up in the South, far removed from the ‘World’s Most Famous Arena.’

Then he started hearing the messages from teammates. Former Orange point guard Jonny Flynn texted Johnson, letting him know all about MSG. His current teammates’ chatter about the Garden wouldn’t cease. Johnson was almost forced to think about it.

‘When I got here, everybody was talking about it so much,’ Johnson said. ‘Now, I’m looking forward to it and I’m ready to go down there.’

Johnson and Syracuse will make their first trip of the season to Madison Square Garden to take on two ranked teams in the championship rounds of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer in New York. The tournament will be the toughest test for the Orange in its non-conference slate, as Syracuse will tangle with No. 13 California today at 7 p.m., and then face either No. 6 North Carolina or No. 15 Ohio State Friday.

‘I think this is one of the better tournaments we have ever played in,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said after Syracuse’s 100-60 win over Robert Morris on Nov. 11. ‘I think all four teams all could be ranked in the top 10 or 15 teams in the country. It will be a good test for us (this) week.’

Though all teams enter the tournament undefeated, these two games are crucial for each coach to see where his team stands against stellar competition this early in the season. The likes of Albany, Florida International, Alcorn State and Detroit aren’t great measuring sticks for these prestigious programs.

Roy Williams, head coach of the defending national champions North Carolina, said some of his inexperienced players need to get experienced rather quickly, and his experienced players need to play ‘a heck of a lot better.’

Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said his squad is a long way from where it needs to be. Boeheim said he’s trying to figure out how all the new parts fit in for his team that lost its top three offensive scorers from last year. California coach Mike Montgomery said his team has played ‘sporadically,’ and he has to see if his team can compete at this level.

The coaches are still trying to feel out their teams, and the players have taken notice what this pair of games could mean.

‘It’s a great test in pre-Big East play,’ Syracuse point guard Brandon Triche said. ‘Four Top 25 teams in the country, and it’s definitely going to help us down the road. They all have tough inside and outside players. We will really see where we are at playing these games.’

Syracuse had traditionally played well in preseason tournaments at the Garden. The Orange participated in the 2002, 2004 and 2005 events, compiling a 9-2 overall record in the tournament in the process. Syracuse won the 2004 tournament championship with a 77-62 win over Memphis.

Center Arinze Onuaku said playing in such a stingy tournament is always important, and the team knows what is in store at MSG. If the Orange wins against California, it will play Friday night at 7 p.m. in the championship game. If it loses, it will play at 5 p.m. in the consolation game.

‘This is what we were looking forward to once the season started,’ Onuaku said. ‘We knew we were going to be playing these games early and New York is almost our home away from home, so we’re going to go down there and handle business.’

Syracuse also has potentially the most to gain from the tournament. Entering the semifinals as the only unranked team in the bracket, an upset could help the Orange crack the ranks of The Associated Press poll. The Orange is currently No. 30 in the AP poll and No. 24 in the coaches’ poll.

With these kinds of implications for the squad, Onuaku doesn’t mind being considered the underdog of the four teams.

‘That’s always kind of good when you sneak in there unexpected,’ Onuaku said. ‘But we kind of showed off a little with these last two games, so they have seen us play, and they’re not going to take us lightly. But we have to go down there and do what we have to do.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on November 18, 2009 at 12:00 pm