Syracuse is out.

Orange coach Jim Boeheim can’t even whine about it after his team was dominated in the second half against Villanova.

Boeheim complained a year ago, saying his team should have gotten into the tournament despite a cupcake schedule. Now, after a loss in the first round of the Big East tourney, the Orange don't have much of a case.

Sure, Boeheim stepped up with the schedule. However, Syracuse only won two games against sure-fire NCAA tournament teams – at home against Georgetown and Marquette.

Villanova has won two of three against ‘Cuse and also has wins against UConn, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Jay Wright’s Wildcats still may need a victory against Georgetown in the second round to secure a bid, but they have put themselves in the conversation.

PULLING FOR THE CHIEF

I have to admit that I'm pulling hard for Alabama State in the SWAC tournament.

I want Chief Kickingstallionsims to get a chance to dance.

Forget about former Boston Celtics big man. This is the real Chief.

He’s 7-foot-1 and is coming off a career performance of 22 points and six boards in a rout over Jackson State.

TENTION RECEIVES EARLY EXIT

Loyola Marymount head coach Rodney Tention was fired on Wednesday after just three years.

He was also one last-second layup against Gonzaga away from going to the NCAA tournament in his first season.

It's an unwritten rule that a coach gets four years. However, these days there are no rules with athletic directors.

BENNETT’S COUGARS QUIETLY ENTER POSTSEASON

Washington State coach Tony Bennett doesn’t like attention.

He doesn’t want to talk about the job speculation with him headed to Bloomington, Ind., or anywhere else for that matter.

Sure, he would have loved for his Cougars to have competed for the Pac-10 regular-season title. Bennett is all about putting it into perspective.

"It’s the first time we’ll get into back-to-back NCAA tournaments in the history of the program," Bennett said.

Bennett said this year’s edition is more balanced than the team that shocked everyone with its success a year ago. They don’t have athletic forward Ivory Clark, but Washington State does boast experience – and in particular, postseason experience.

"We’re more battle-tested,” Bennett said. “Playing a season with a bull's-eye on your back prepares you for a situation that you’re going to face,”

NO NOLAN

Schools aren’t waiting in line to hire Nolan Richardson.

Richardson said he’s taken himself out of the mix for the vacancy at Arkansas State. Richardson hasn’t coached in college since 2002, when he was fired by Arkansas.

Richardson said he’s “looking for that fit,” but he’s 66 years old and can’t afford to be picky.

GOING, GOING GONZO

Plenty of coaches play nice publicly, but behind closed doors, they express their disdain for one another.

Now it’s clear how much Seton Hall’s Bobby Gonzalez and Rutgers head man Fred Hill dislike each other.

The pair looked like a pair of teenagers after Rutgers knocked off Seton Hall 64-61, forcing Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese to take notice with a statement.

“I’m embarrassed about what happened Sunday. I was embarrassed for our conference, our coaches and our schools,” Tranghese said. “It’s not going to happen again.”

I received some flak for writing that Gonzalez, according to sources, took a swing at one of his assistant coaches a few weeks back at halftime.

Maybe it happened. Maybe it didn’t.

However, Gonzalez is clearly capable. There are plenty of stories behind the scenes that involve Gonzo – and then you’ve got the evidence of him charging onto the court after a referee following Rutgers’ game-winning trifecta at the buzzer.

I took my dad down to Durham, N.C., for his 65th birthday to watch Duke pull away from Georgia Tech last night.

This is a man who grew up in the Celtics heyday with Bill Russell and Larry Bird. He’s been to the Red Sox-Yankees wars.

But he was absolutely blown away after taking in a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

In addition to the atmosphere in the building, he got a chance to see all the students who had been sleeping outside in tents outside Cameron since mid-January for the opportunity to get free tickets to the North Carolina and Maryland games down the stretch.

Duke’s brand-new practice facility, which opened a few weeks ago, is state-of-the-art and will make it even more difficult for schools to beat the Blue Devils on the recruiting trail. In fact, 6-foot-11 junior Mason Plumlee committed to Duke yesterday after taking a couple of recent unofficial visits to Durham.

LAWSON MAY SEE LIMITED TIME

North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson didn’t participate in any contact practice yesterday and Tar Heels coach is hopeful he’ll be able to get Lawson in for limited minutes in Saturday’s game at Boston College.

Lawson has missed the past six games with a sprained ankle. Williams said the decision won’t be made until after Friday’s practice.

Williams also said that sophomore forward Deon Thompson is getting treatment for a back injury and may not play against the Eagles. Honestly, it won’t matter.

Tyler Hansbrough could play by himself against the entire BC frontline and still dominate.

GONZO GONE WILD

No surprise at all that Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez took a swing at his assistant coach, Scott Adubato, a few weeks ago during halftime of the West Virginia game.

Numerous sources told us of the incident, the latest in a long line of crazy stories we’ve heard regarding Gonzo over the years.

WOOD EMBARRASMENT

There’s no way that referee Mike Wood should have been on the court in the Duke game on Wednesday night.

The guy could barely get up and down the court. He was limping and could barely do his job.

SUMPTER READY TO GO

Villanova senior forward Curtis Sumpter, who missed all of last season after tearing a knee ligament for the second time in less than a year, has progressed so well that he doesn't even want to wear a knee brace.

"He's doing everything," one source said. "He's ready to go."

Sumpter initially tore his ACL in March of 2005 against Florida and re-injured the left knee on Oct. 19 in practice. If he's healthy, the Wildcats have a chance of getting back to the Sweet 16.

BIG EAST ASSISTANTS POW-WOW

Nearly all of the top assistants in the Big East have been asked to attend a meeting on Friday in Philadelphia at the Airport Marriott.

The idea came about back in May, when all of the head coaches convened at an annual meeting.

"They want to make sure everyone's on the same program," one head coach said. "It's a way to get all the assistants together and make sure they know they aren't just representing themselves, but also their head coaches."

"It's not a big deal and isn't about one particular thing," he added. "The league just thought it would be a good idea."

Another source said that it comes in the aftermath of the UConn-Doug Wiggins saga and also is about the abundance of negative recruiting that is ongoing throughout the conference.

"It's about negative recruiting and tampering with kids," the source said.

FRESHMEN UP IN AIR

Seton Hall freshman point guard Eugene Harvey hasn't gotten cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse, but his former coach at St. Benedict's, Dan Hurley, isn't worried.

"He'll qualify," Hurley said. "He's already qualified, but the holdup is over one course he took after he finished his fourth year."

Harvey isn't the only one still waiting the official word.

Marquette's Lazar Hayward and UConn big man Hasheem Thabeet haven't gotten through the clearinghouse, either.

According to a source, the problem with Hayward stems from the fact that his old high school, Buffalo Traditional, closed down and some records haven't been able to be found.

The Clearinghouse still needs more info regarding the 7-foot-2 Thabeet, who is expected to be the "X" factor for the Huskies this season.


PADG-INATION

Louisville big man David Padgett is making progress, but don't expect the 6-foot-11 forward to put up numbers such as the 27-point, 8-rebound performance he did against UConn anytime soon.

Padgett had significant surgery on both knees on March 6 and while he is participating in individual workouts, he isn't close to being able to make an impact. In fact, it's unlikely that he'll be anywhere near what he was last season until the middle of conference play in February.

Padgett averaged 11.8 points and 6.1 boards in 26.8 minutes per game a year ago after transferring in from Kansas.