Somehow the Syracuse basketball squad finds itself one game back of ACC supremacy ahead of their tilt against the Pitt Panthers.
Believe it or not, Syracuse is in 4th place in the ACC, and can climb to first with a win in Pittsburgh this weekend. This Syracuse team may have the same roster that they had when they were humiliated 93-60 against St. Johns, but the confidence is at an all time high, and this Syracuse team is well on their way to another Final Four run if they keep this up.
After Tyus Battle nailed a game winning three as time expired on Tuesday night, Syracuse has won their last 5 games, and trail just Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida State in easily the toughest conference in college, the ACC.
After winning their first two road games of the season, and defeating two top 10 teams in the country, Syracuse has found themselves in most analysts March Madness brackets with a healthy 8-4 record in conference play.
If the Orange weren’t in the ACC, there is no chance that they would make the tournament, with their unimpressive 9 losses. With the ACC being easily the deepest conference in the NCAA, Syracuse’s recent climb in the standings greatly improve their chances to participate in March.
When Boeheim was asked about the competitiveness in the ACC Tuesday night, he said
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“Clemson’s an NCAA team. No doubt in my mind. They can beat anybody. You look at our league. Pittsburgh’s in last place. They beat Maryland, a team thats leading the Big Ten. They beat Marquette, a team in the top part of the Big East”.
You could argue that at least 10 ACC teams deserve to make the tournament. Clemson is currently sitting at 3-8 in ACC play, and Pittsburgh is sitting at 2-9, yet both teams have taken down top 25 teams in the country earlier this season. Most teams in the ACC are much better than top-25 teams, and Syracuse proved that last year.
The way things are looking right now, it seems as if North Carolina, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame and Duke are locks for the tournament. Bubble teams from the ACC include Syracuse, Miami, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Clemson.
Syracuse was in nobody’s bracket projection last week, and now holds a seed-average of 10.5, and most brackets have not been updated since their game against Clemson. Things looked even better yesterday, when NBCSports gave Syracuse an 8-seed in their bracket.
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Syracuse’s winning streak has quickly overshadowed their brutal start to the season, and hopefully they can keep it going this Saturday in Pittsburgh.