A piece of paper that read “Reserved for Chancellor” was taped to a small table in the Schine Student Center on Saturday night. A student sat on the chair before it, eyes set on the projector showing Syracuse in a hopeful but ultimately hopeless battle against North Carolina.

The actual chancellor of Syracuse University spent the majority of the first half pacing the perimeter between the food court area of Schine Dining and the dining area. He cheered and clapped quietly when the men’s basketball team scored, but his nervousness showed as he moved from place to place, at one point receding behind the curtain separating the food court and dining area.

Syverud said he’d been nervous that way twice before in the Tournament, and the team had turned it around both those times. But Syracuse couldn’t turn it around on Saturday.

Despite Syracuse’s unsuccessful attempts to play catch-up for the majority of the game, the nervous energy in Schine remained hopeful. Every SU point resulted in claps and cheers, and, eventually, the sighs and groans for every North Carolina point quieted down. Watch party attendees even giggled at a slow-motion shot of men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim closing his eyes and breathing out in exasperation.

Some students were there because they thought Schine would be a good place to go to watch the game with a lot of people. Others went because all the bars were over 21, and they were underage.

Syverud, who had been in Chicago for the men’s Elite Eight victory over the University of Virginia, said he was in Schine on Saturday because he had been teaching all day and wanted to be at a public event for the game with students. Syverud spent the entirety of the first half at Schine but left shortly after the half’s end.

Two friends at the watch party, Kelsey Thompson and Yazmin Curiel-Ruth, said they were “freaking out” to see “Kent” there.

Curiel-Ruth, a freshman communication and rhetorical studies major, said she was “kind of surprised” to see Syverud because she thought he’d be in Houston — the site of the men’s Final Four — but added that he’s the chancellor and likes to make appearances.

“It was cool because he’s actually stuck around,” said Thompson, a freshman in the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. “That to me was, it was a nice time to show that he’s not just here to show up and then leave. He’s actually here for and with the students.”

Things headed further south for Syracuse when the second half started, as the Orange crept closer to North Carolina’s lead only to be outpaced by the Tar heels.

But one SU student said being in the Final Four felt “amazing” after last season, when the men’s basketball team was restricted from post-season play in a series of sanctions by the NCAA.

“I feel like I’m in the Final Four, even though they’re playing, I feel like I’m in the Final Four for the team,” he said.

On how they’d feel if the Orange lost, the student and his friend agreed: “F*ck yeah, go ‘Cuse.”

Other students in Schine seemed to feel similarly, applauding fifth-year senior Michael Gbinije when he fouled out and effectively ended his time on the court as a student athlete. Respectful applause also erupted more than a minute later at the game’s end, with the final score 83-66.

Some students let their real feelings shine through, though.

“Grandma’s going to go and sleep,” one student said with a sigh, moments after the game ended and students were emptying out of Schine.

“Yeah, we’re sad,” her friend replied. “We’re sad.”

Published on April 3, 2016 at 1:06 am

Contact Alexa: atorrens@syr.edu