The Syracuse basketball men’s and women’s teams have a chance to rewrite history as both look to take home a national championship this weekend.
Believe it or not, only one other team has ever won both the men’s and women’s NCAA championship in basketball in the same year. That team? UConn… twice. The first time it happened was in 2004, and then exactly 10 years later, they duplicated the feat in 2014.
To say Syracuse basketball is stepping into elite company is a bit of an understatement. They’d be just the second team to do it, ever. However, we can take it a step further, as it would also be the women’s first National Championship ever. So it’s a bit of a double whammy.
Standing in both teams way are a pair of college basketball goliaths that are heavy favorites. The women get the easier semifinal, as they battle the 8th seed Washington Huskies before almost certainly having to take on UConn in the finals.
UConn have won three consecutive NCAA tournaments, and with Briana Stewart leading their offense, they look nearly invincible. However, if we’ve learned anything in this women’s tournament this year it’s that anything is possible. No one gave the Orange a shot against South Carolina, yet here they are. No one thought Notre Dame could be beaten, yet down they went.
So while it may very much be a David vs. Goliath matchup in the finals, anything is possible. First things first though, the team needs to get past Washington in the semis. I know the Orange are hungry, but they need to make sure they don’t overlook a very talented Washington team.
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I’m fully confident that Quentin Hillsman will keep them focused and on task. He’s proven to be one heck of a coach, bring the ladies two rounds farther than they’ve ever been, and doing it in style. Their rout of Tennessee in the Elite Eight was a thing of beauty. So bring on Washington! I know the ladies are ready for them.
As for the men, they meet their “goliath” in the semifinals against a UNC team that by all accounts is the favorite to win the tournament as the last remaining #1 seed.
It’s actually rather fitting that these two teams meet here. Syracuse is coming off some pretty egregious sanctions from the NCAA and out to prove that no one can hold them down.
UNC on the other hand, are doing everything in their power to stall out the NCAA punishment that is inevitably coming for decades of fake classes and thousands of athletes that duped the system.
It’s like the Joker meets the Riddler. Of course, Syracuse basketball has already had to pay heavily for their crimes, while UNC is still awaiting theirs, so I think it’s only fair that the Orange come out victorious.
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Assuming that they do, they will go the finals to face the winner of the Oklahoma Villanova game. Either way, that will be a tough matchup, as both teams were easily good enough to be a 1 seed. Villanova offers a balanced attack and a tremendous defense while Oklahoma offers… Buddy Hield, or Steph Curry junior as he’s looked this tournament.
Should both the men and women emerge victorious, it would be a monumental accomplishment. It would also be absolute bedlam up on Marshall Street. I was there in 2003 when the men won as a junior at SU. It was complete insanity, and I loved every second of it.
I’d love to see that repeated come next weekend, and I truly think it’s possible. Both these teams have already overcome incredible odds and proved that you can never count out a Syracuse basketball squad. Two more wins for each, and we can all start the celebration.