Syracuse Basketball Makes the NCAA Tournament

Ladies and gentlemen, the Syracuse basketball team is dancing. After a stressful few days, SU has made it to the NCAA tournament.

Yes, you heard that right. Contrary to popular belief, including my own, Syracuse basketball, a 10 seed, will take on Dayton (7) in the round of 64. Going into today, I thought the Orange virtually had no chance. After their loss to Pitt and Michigan’s win, the situation was looking dire for them. But the Basketball God’s were bleeding orange today. Despite what Doug Gottlieb and others may think, Syracuse deserves to make the tournament.

They kicked off the season by winning the Battle for Atlantis Tournament, as they defeated multiple ranked teams, including Connecticut and Texas A&M. These victories notched the Orange an AP ranking, which eventually was rescinded after losses to Wisconsin, Georgetown, and St Johns. In fact, as Doug Gottlieb pointed out, “No team that Lost to St Johns should be allowed in the tournament.”

Hey, guess what Doug Gottlieb. We made it. He may have judged that loss harder than others and while it was a bad loss, it turned out to be nothing more then a blemish. He has also already gone ahead and picked Dayton to advance over the Orange. Historically, Gottlieb is a notorious Syracuse hater, so a first round victory would be that much sweeter for the Orange.

"“Well, let’s break it down. Boeheim has been to just four Elite eight’s and beyond in 40 years at the helm. His players for the most part have underachieved in the pros. His school has been on NCAA probation and oh yeah, by the way, no one copies his style. I’m not saying he’s not very good, but he’s obviously not great.”"

Hey Gottlieb, how many coaches have been to four final fours? How many have a national championship?  How many have a nearly 70% winning percentage in NCAA tournament play? And how many have done that while locking up less than three top-10 recruits all-time? What’s that? Boeheim is the ONLY ONE who gets there? Huh. Maybe Gottlieb doesn’t know as much as he thinks he does…

Getting back on track to Syracuse basketball this year, the low point of the season was four-game losing streak in Boeheim’s absence. It just so happened that Syracuse had a grueling schedule consisting of Pittsburgh, Miami, Clemson, and North Carolina. These ACC match ups were too much for the Orange to handle, as they did not play their best basketball by any means.

Fast forward to January 18th, when the Orange turned their season around. Arguably the toughest task in college basketball, Syracuse traveled into Cameron Indoor and defeated the Duke Blue Devils. This game was highlighted by Tyler Roberson, who had one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. His 14 points maybe didn’t make the highlight reel, but his 20 rebounds (12 offensive) definitely did. That was a unique scoring game for the Orange, as Cooney, Gbinije, Richardson, and Roberson all scored 14 points. This signature win in Durham sparked a Syracuse run in which they won eight of nine, including a win over Notre Dame, who was ranked 25th at the time.

As you can see, the Orange have had some very good wins this year. There were some bumps along the road, but that’s what the college basketball season is all about. The fans and media can argue endlessly about whether or not Syracuse deserved to make it. The bottom line is that they are in, so there is no need to argue. Syracuse fans should be proud of this team, regardless of if they advance.

To quote Jim Boeheim: “This is the happiest I’ve been on selection Sunday in a long time. I’m so happy for this team”

Stay tuned to Inside the Loud House this week for news and a first round preview.