By Drew Casey
They call it March Madness for a reason.
Northern Iowa hitting a half-court buzzer beater. Yale taking down Baylor. Texas A&M winning in double overtime, despite being down 12 with 44 seconds remaining in the second half. And now a 10 seed, Syracuse, in the Final Four.
To any college basketball fan, it’s difficult to understand how the Orange have reached the pinnacle of college basketball, which will take place this weekend in Houston.
Syracuse finished the regular season at 19-12 overall and 9-9 in the ACC, enough to tie for ninth in the conference. In the conference tournament, the Orange were downed by Pittsburgh in the round preceding the quarterfinals. To make matters worse, the program was trying to put 2015’s self-imposed postseason ban and other NCAA sanctions behind them.
Should the Orange have gotten into the NCAA Tournament with their pre-tournament resume? No.
But once you get in, whether based on reputation or true merit, anything can happen. Clearly, the Orange have embraced this as they’ve taken care of their first four opponents, winning by a combined 53 points.
It’s no secret as to how the former Big East power has been able to succeed on college basketball’s biggest stage. Head coach Jim Boeheim’s patented 2-3 zone has forced pressure and stymied opposing offenses, holding them to below 37 percent from the field and just above 34 percent from three point range.
The Orange have also dominated on the offensive glass, collecting 51 offensive rebounds and outscoring opponents 50-30 in second chance points. Junior Tyler Roberson has accounted for 22 of the offensive boards.
Graduate student Michael Gbinije has led the offense, averaging 16 points in the NCAA Tournament, but Roberson’s high school teammate, freshman Malachi Richardson, has also come up huge for the Orange. The New Jersey native is pouring in nearly 15 per contest in the Big Dance, but totaled a career-high 23 in the team’s Elite 8 win over Virginia.
Does Syracuse’s performance thus far validate their selection into the field of 68? No.
Do I think Syracuse, a 9.5 point underdog late Sunday, stands a chance against North Carolina on Saturday? Not at all. Once again, the Orange will be the underdogs.
If these two teams met three weeks ago, I would have taken Roy Williams’ bunch to win by at least 25. But with Boeheim and the way Otto’s Army is playing right now, you never know. We’ll have to wait and see if the magic continues in Houston this weekend.
Say what you will, but March Madness, the greatest annual multi-day sporting event in the world, continues to outdo itself.
