Syracuse Basketball: 5 Reasons SU Men Win a Championship

Nothing to Lose

Do you have any idea the amount of pressure there is on a 1- 2- or 3- seed to perform well in the tournament? Look no further than Michigan State, who’s epic collapse has been a major talking point this entire tournament. There is so much stress put on those teams because the expectations are so high.

Not the case for Syracuse basketball. They were lucky to make it into the tournament on selection Sunday. Since then, there’s been nothing but anger, ridicule, and a whole lot of trolling against the Orange. Analysts from CBS to ESPN to Fox and beyond have all called SU undeserving and given nothing but disrespect to this team.

If that didn’t motivate them, it at least took the pressure completely off them. They came into this tournament with zero expectations. Even Jim Boeheim himself said that he would have been happy to beat Dayton and lose to Michigan State before the tournament started. It’s truly amazing how much different you play when you are care-free and unencumbered by expectation.

You can really see it from the team. They are leaving it all out there and playing with a kind of freedom that is tough for any team to emulate. They have a never-say-die attitude that has propelled them through the toughest times. It’s not often you trail a team by 15 points with under 10 minutes to play and win the game.

While it might not be quite as impressive as Texas A&M’s miracle comeback in under a minute, when you consider they were playing Virginia, the #1 defensive efficiency team in the entire NCAA, it makes it that much more special. This team never quits, and that’s why they are where they are and why they can most assuredly win this tournament.

Next: The Man Pulling the Strings