On Saturday, Syracuse will play in its fifth Final Four under head coach Jim Boeheim. Here’s a look at how the four teams fared that previously played under Boeheim on college basketball’s biggest stage.

1987 — national runner-up:

Regular season record: 23-5 (12-4 in the Big East)

NCAA Tournament Seed: No. 2 in the East region

Starting five: Sherman Douglas (sophomore), Greg Monroe (senior), Howard Triche (senior), Derrick Coleman (freshman) and Rony Seikaly (junior)

Leading scorer: Sherman Douglas, who averaged 17.3 points per game

Teams beaten en route to Final Four: No. 15 Georgia Southern, No. 10 Western Kentucky, No. 6 Florida, No. 1 North Carolina

Final Four result: In Boeheim’s first trip to the Final Four, the Orange easily dispatched No. 6 seed Providence,77-63, to make the national championship game against No. 1 seed Indiana. Playing in the Superdome in New Orleans, Syracuse held a one-point lead with 28 seconds left, but lost the game in the final seconds on a shot from the corner by IU’s Keith Smart.

1996 — national runner-up:

Regular season record: 22-7 (12-6 in the Big East)

NCAA Tournament seed: No. 4 seed in the West region

Starting five: John Wallace (senior), Lazarus Sims (senior), Jason Cipolla (junior), Todd Burgan (sophomore) and Otis Hill (junior)

Leading scorer: John Wallace, who averaged 22.2 points per game

Teams beaten en route to Final Four: No. 13 Montana State, No. 12 Drexel, No. 8 Georgia, No. 2 Kansas

Final Four result: Having just beaten a Kansas team in the Elite Eight that included future NBA players Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz, the Orange took on No. 5 Mississippi State in East Rutherford, New Jersey. SU won, 77-69, in a game that was tied at halftime. That set up a matchup with No. 1 Kentucky, a two-loss team coached by Rick Pitino, featuring Tony Delk, Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer. Despite 29 points from Wallace, Syracuse lost in Boeheim’s second national title game, 76-67.

2003 — national champion:

Regular season record:  23-4 (13-3 in the Big East)

NCAA Tournament seed: No. 3 seed in East region

Starting five: Gerry McNamara (freshman), Kueth Duany (senior), Carmelo Anthony (freshman), Hakim Warrick (sophomore) and Craig Forth (sophomore)

Leading scorer: Carmelo Anthony, who averaged 22.2 points per game

Teams beaten en route to Final Four: No. 14 Manhattan, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 10 Auburn, No. 1 Oklahoma

Final Four result: Behind 33 points from Carmelo Anthony, the Orange knocked off No. 1 seed Texas to set up a national title meeting with No. 2 seed Kansas, coached by Roy Williams. In that game, Syracuse saw an 11-point halftime lead nearly evaporate as Kansas closed to within three. With only a couple seconds on the clock, Jayhawks guard Michael Lee found himself open from the corner. He launched a 3-pointer, but was denied by a fast-closing Hakim Warrick to secure the win. Sixteen years after Boeheim experienced heartbreak in New Orleans against Indiana, he celebrated the program’s first national title on the Superdome floor.

2013 — lost in national semifinal

Regular season record: 26-9 (11-7 in the Big East)

NCAA Tournament seed: No. 4 seed in East region

Starting five: Michael Carter-Williams (sophomore), Brandon Triche (senior), C.J. Fair (junior), James Southerland (senior), Rakeem Christmas (sophomore)

Leading scorer: C.J. Fair, who averaged 14.5 points per game

Teams beaten en route to Final Four: No. 13 Montana, No. 12 California, No. 1 Indiana, No. 3 Marquette

Final Four result: Syracuse met No. 4 seed Michigan in the national semifinal in Atlanta. The Wolverines were led by freshmen Nik Stauskas, Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III, as well as sophomore point guard Trey Burke. The Orange trailed for most of the game, and faced an 11-point deficit at halftime, but closed to within one point with under a minute remaining. Trailing by three with 15 seconds left, Syracuse was without Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Triche, who had both fouled out. Trevor Cooney, a redshirt freshman at the time, entered the game and threw up a contested shot on a drive into the lane. Michigan grabbed the rebound, dunked off of an outlet pass and moved on to the final. It’s the only time in Boeheim’s previous four Final Four trips that his team failed to make the national title game.

Published on March 30, 2016 at 3:35 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27