NEW ORLEANS ÷ When it finally happened, there were no shouts of jubilation or tears of joy. In fact, SU head coach Jim Boeheim barely cracked a smile.

Mere seconds after winning his first national championship ÷ and the first in Syracuse men's basketball history ÷ Boeheim simply walked over to Kansas coach Roy Willliams and said congratulations.

"Well I don't feel any smarter yet," Boeheim said. "Maybe tomorrow. As I said before the tournament, I want to win this thing. I'm tremendously happy."

Meanwhile, 15 feet away, the Orangemen danced and celebrated having just beaten Kansas, 81-78, in front of 54,524 people at the Louisiana Superdome. They rejoiced partly out of relief after nearly blowing a 12-point second-half lead.

With 24 seconds left, SU guard Kueth Duany made one of two free throws to give Syracuse an 81-78 lead. Kansas' Kirk Hinrich missed a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left, but the Jayhawks quickly fouled Hakim Warrick, who missed both free throws.

Then Warrick made what will no doubt soon become the most famous block in Syracuse history. He stretched all 6-foot-8 of his lanky frame to knock away Michael Lee's game-tying 3-point try with 0.7 seconds left.

"I definitely wanted to go out there and just try to make a play after missing the free throws," Warrick said. "I saw a guy open in the corner, and I knew they needed to hit a three, so I just tried to fly at him. I didn't want it to be another one of those Keith Smart shots."

Kansas had time for one last 3-point try, but Hinrich's desperate heave from the right corner hit the front of the rim.

Minutes after the game, the Syracuse section chanted "one more year," begging Carmelo Anthony, who won the NCAA Tournament's MVP award, to forgo the NBA Draft. Anthony led the way with 20 points and 10 boards.

"I've never had a feeling like this," Anthony said. "This is the best feeling I've ever had in my life."

After the on-court celebration, Anthony hugged his mother, Mary, who sat in the front row.

"I just told him I love him very much," she said from her seat, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so proud of him."

Nick Collison and Keith Langford each had 19 points for Kansas. Williams, the Jayhawks' 15-year head coach, is now the winningest NCAA coach without a national championship.

"This is one of those times I feel so inadequate as a coach and so inadequate as a person," Williams said. "There's nothing I can say to change the way my kids feel, nothing that can change the way I feel."

Despite being down by 10 with 6:55 remaining, his Jayhawks never quit. They closed the score to 78-73 after a Hinrich dunk with 2:36 left. SU guard Billy Edelin hit a layup for Syracuse, but Hinrich

alley-ooped to Nick Collison to keep the Orangemen's lead at five.

Kansas pulled to within three early in the second half, but their poor free-throw shooting held it back in the middle stages. At one point, the Jayhawks missed seven straight from the line. Syracuse led, 72-62, with 6:55 remaining.

"You try to make a free throw," Collison said. "You miss, you make, there's nothing else you can do."

The Orangemen led, 53-42, at halftime, and their lead ballooned to 18 at one point during the first half, behind six 3-pointers and 18 points from Gerry McNamara.

During a 17-5 SU run, McNamara hit back-to-back 3-pointers, putting Syracuse ahead, 23-14, early. McNamara shot 6-of-8 from behind the arc in the first half and 6-of-10 overall.

Kansas never established its up-tempo game because of Syracuse's first-half 56 percent shooting, including 77 percent from 3-point range. Though the Jayhawks seemed to gain momentum toward halftime, they blew two opportunities to get back in the game.

"Talk to me in two hours when it hits me," SU center Craig Forth said. "I'll have to sit down. I'm sure every person in the nation will try to describe this. I don't think you can."