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Despite that surprising loss to the Bearcats on March 9, the Orange received the No. 1 seed in the East Region for the NCAA Tournament and is the No. 2 seed overall for the Big Dance. SU (31-2) will face Big South Conference regular-season and tournament champion UNC Asheville in its first NCAA Tournament game at 3:10 p.m. Thursday, March 15, at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The Bulldogs, who finished 24-9 overall and 16-2 in the Big South, are the No. 16 seed in the East Region.
A No. 16 seed has never defeated a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And the Orange should be ready and angry after falling to Cincinnati 71-68 in the Big East Tournament semifinals. It was SU’s first loss since Jan. 21, and the Orange’s first defeat this season with a full roster (SU played without starting center Fab Melo in the Jan. 21 loss at Notre Dame). The Orange had won 11 games between Notre Dame and Cincinnati, and many of them went down to the wire.
“The last 10 games or so we hadn’t played our best basketball, even though we won them,” SU coach Jim Boeheim told ESPN March 11. “We didn’t adjust to not playing well until we got slapped in the face by Cincinnati. We came back here and had two of our better practices in a long time. Players, when they’re winning, excuse their mistakes. We finally got their attention and I think we’ll be a better team going forward.”
After setting a school record for wins in a season with 24, UNC Asheville will be making its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. As their reward, the Bulldogs will also face the Big East regular-season champion for the second consecutive year. UNC Asheville lost to Pittsburgh in its first tournament game last season.
Syracuse has won all three of its previous games against UNC Asheville, including an 81-63 decision in their most recent game in 2003 at the Carrier Dome. “Syracuse is a great team that can very easily win the national championship,” said UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. “However, we’re going to battle as hard as we can and see what we can do.”
The Orangemen are a No. 1 seed for the second time in three years and for the third time overall (the other years were 1980 and 2010). This is SU’s 35th NCAA Tournament appearance and 29th under Boeheim. The Orange are 53-34 in tournament games and have advanced to four Final Fours (1975, 1987, 1996 and 2003).
“We worked all year long to get a No. 1 seed,” SU senior point guard Scoop Jardine said. “But now it starts over and we’ve got to try to win six games.”’
Since winning the national title in 2003, the Orange is 5-5 in the tournament and has failed to advance to the Elite Eight. To make it to the Sweet 16 this season, the Orange will have to win Thursday and defeat either No. 8-seed Kansas State (21-10) or No. 9 Southern Mississippi (25-8) in the third round Saturday, March 17, in Pittsburgh.
And it’s likely the path to the Elite Eight will go through Vanderbilt, which shocked No. 1 overall seed Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game March 11. “It’s a tough bracket, but that’s what you expect in the NCAA Tournament,” Boeheim said. “We’ve been in a lot of dogfights and won them all up to the other night against Cincinnati.”
As the brackets were revealed on March 11, the college basketball analysts with ESPN and CBS were divided on how far the Orange would advance in the tournament. ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb said Kansas State was “massively underseeded” at No. 8, while Digger Phelps and Dick Vitale said they liked Vanderbilt.
Vitale said he thought the Orange haven’t been the same since Melo’s three-game absence in late January. “I think they’re very vulnerable,” Vitale said. “If you’re a ‘Cuse fan, I think you’re in trouble.”
But ESPN’s Jay Bilas picked the Orange to play Kentucky in the national title game, and Hubert Davis also picked SU to reach the Final Four. CBS’ Seth Davis said he expects SU to defeat Ohio State to reach the Final Four.
“Ohio State and Syracuse are on a collision course and that favors Syracuse because of its zone {defense},” Davis said. “It’s a great match-up for Syracuse. They’re going to the Final Four.”
—Matt Michael
