ORANGE YA GLAD: Michael Carter-Williams, getting a point of appreciation from Baye Keita, had plenty of reason to saunter around the court yesterday as he dished out 14 assists, tying a Big East Tournament record. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
ORANGE YA GLAD: Michael Carter-Williams, getting a point of appreciation from Baye Keita, had plenty of reason to saunter around the court yesterday as he dished out 14 assists, tying a Big East Tournament record. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
After finding James Southerland for a 3-pointer midway through yesterday’s second half, Syracuse point guard Michael Carter-Williams strutted his way down court. He delivered even more swagger as the game continued.
“That’s something we need,” Carter-Williams said. “I’m just trying to bring us up.”
Carter-Williams, the magnificent sophomore, was brilliant in the fifth-seeded Orange’s 75-63 win over 12th-seeded Seton Hall. He dished out a Big East Tournament record-tying 14 assists and committed just one turnover in sparking Syracuse (24-8) to the victory.
With his 14 assists, Carter-Williams joined Mark Jackson (St. John’s, 1986), Pearl Washington (Syracuse, 1986) and Brandin Knight (Pitt, 2002) in the Tournament record book.
“Our offensive movement was the best it’s been probably all year. We really moved the ball,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, whose entire team had four assists in its last game — a 61-39 rout at the hands of Georgetown. “Mike played, I think, his best game of the year.”
Syracuse will face fourth-seeded Pitt in today’s quarterfinals. A month ago, the Panthers knocked off Syracuse, 65-55, in Pittsburgh. However, Southerland (a team-high 20 points yesterday) didn’t play in that one due to suspension.
Yesterday, Southerland was splendid in the first half, racking up 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. The senior from Bayside finished the game 6-for-9 from deep.
“I’m capable of spreading out the floor,” Southerland said. “I know Pitt plays a physical game. We’re going to go out and be physical and move the ball around.”
Seton Hall (15-18) was tough to guard early, carrying a 10-point lead 10 minutes into the game. Syracuse, though, had tied it by halftime and never trailed again. In the game’s final 30 minutes, the Orange rolled up 61 points.
“To be honest with you, I think, if we didn’t have to play at 2 p.m., I think we would have played a little bit better defensively,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “I don’t know why you’d play a night game [Tuesday against South Florida] and then a day game.”
As a freshman last season, Carter-Williams played only a total of eight minutes in two Big East Tournament games. He averaged just 10.3 minutes a game all season as he was stuck behind three guards in Dion Waiters, Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche (now a senior).
This season, however, Carter-Williams emerged, earning the Big East’s Co-Most Improved Player and becoming one of 12 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award (best point guard in college hoops). A lanky 6-foot-5, 184-pounder, Carter-Williams is averaging 7.8 assists this season — third in the nation. He logged all 40 minutes yesterday.
“I was ready to come in and play this year,” he said.
Syracuse had lost four of five entering yesterday and is just 6-7 since starting 18-1. No coach has won more Big East tourney games than Boeheim, who’s won 48. With his team heading to the ACC next year, Boeheim admitted that when he got to the Garden, things felt different.
“In the locker room before the game, I was thinking about all the times coming here,” he said. “Things have kind of been two years coming, but now that it’s here, your whole life has been spent in this league, and the last 31 years coming to this building, that’s a lot.
“That’s a lot of memories, a lot of time. It’s just been such an amazing place.”
mark.hale@nypost.com