The Syracuse Orange were one of the most hotly debated bubble teams ahead of Selection Sunday. They finished 19-13 overall, 9-9 in the ACC had some very good wins but also some very bad losses so there were many people that thought they would be NIT bound. Jim Boeheim pleaded with the selection committee to take his suspension into account and whether they did or not Syracuse got in.
Not only is Syracuse in but they weren't even one of the last four in as they don't even have to play in one of the First Four games. This Syracuse team is a difficult one to figure out because there are games when they look great and then there are games when they look below average. The Orange are the 10th seed in the Midwest region so just how far can this team go?
Syracuse enters the tournament having lost five of their last six games including a first round loss to Pittsburgh in the ACC tournament. The NCAA tournament is a whole new season but that alone does not bode well for them. Another thing that might not bode well for Syracuse is the fact that they might just be a mediocre team.
Michael Gbinije is a really good player and Tyler Roberson could be a beast on the offensive glass but there are holes as well. Trevor Cooney has not had a good season and outside of Gbinije the Orange haven't gotten consistent play from really anyone this year. This team did win at Duke earlier this season and beat Texas A&M at a neutral site, but it's also the same team that lost to St. Johns (!) and Georgetown. To be fair Boeheim did not coach those two bad losses but they are proof of how inconsistent this team can be.
The good news for Syracuse is they open up against a Dayton team that has also struggled down the stretch of the season a little bit. The Flyers have lost four of their last eight heading into the tournament and overall have not looked great recently. Syracuse has a very real shot of beating Dayton in the first round of the tournament but unfortunately that might be as far as they can go.
If Syracuse were to beat Dayton their next game would likely be against Michigan State. The Spartans come in as one of the hottest teams in the nation and are a very popular pick to cut down the nets in Houston. If Syracuse plays their best game and Michigan State plays their worst the Orange might have a shot but outside of that it just doesn't seem all that possible.
