Boeheim collects 700th win

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jim Boeheim breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. With the season winding down, the Syracuse coach didn't need anything hanging over his head.

Hakim Warrick scored a career-high 36 points in his final home game and Boeheim notched his 700th victory when the 15th-ranked Orange overwhelmed Providence in the second half for a 91-66 victory yesterday.

"This week has been tough for everybody just to get through," said the 60-year-old Boeheim, the sixth active coach to reach 700 wins and the 18th overall. "When you have to win a couple of games, I think there's more of a pressure situation than anything, just to get 700 out of the way, not having to keep that going for another week.

"That was a huge relief for me. It was great to get this all done at once."

Boeheim, who has coached Syracuse since 1976, saluted the Carrier Dome crowd of 32,804 from center court, held up a team jersey with "Boeheim 700" emblazoned on the back and was presented with a huge banner sporting the autographs of thousands of fans.

"I could have done without that," Boeheim said of the ceremony. "You have to do that because that's what people expect. I want the players to get all the credit. I just look at these kinds of things as a distraction. One of my jobs is to keep distractions to a minimum. Anything I can eliminate, that's what I want to do.

"That doesn't mean I'm not proud. It's a private feeling. I've seen too many people where their focus changes and they don't do the same things that they always did."