In the first round of the 2005 NCAA tournament, UMass shocked the world when it upset Syracuse, the defending national champion. Understanding the events that led up to that game, and the animosity that was brewing, makes the story even more intense and remarkable.
The Minutemen and the Orange squared off every year from 1976 until 2009. Syracuse dominated from 1982 through 2002, winning all 22 games in that span (the teams met twice in the 1994 season); that includes six consecutive seasons (1986-91) when Syracuse defeated UMass in the NCAA tournament.
Then, in the 2003 regular season, UMass stopped the streak with a 14-13 overtime victory. Two years later, the Minutemen won again, by the same score.
