For The Moment, SU Is Generally Considered In The Big Dance

Is SU in the dance or out right now? What do they have to do to cement their place in the tournament? Well Neil Adler gives us his take.

So the Syracuse basketball squad snapped a three-game skid by beating No. 10 Duke at the buzzer inside the frenetic Carrier Dome on Wednesday night.

This stunning success means that the Orange now possesses three top-10 wins, and SU is the sole unranked outfit to claim such a feat. According to ESPN.com, the ‘Cuse currently sports a RPI of 74, which is far from terrific.

However, Syracuse does own a trio of triumphs over teams in the RPI top 25, six against those in the RPI top 50 and nine versus groups in the RPI top 100, ESPN.com says. That’s fairly solid.

What’s more, the Orange gets a prime opportunity to bolster its resume on Sunday afternoon, when it travels to No. 7 Louisville. The Cardinals presently hold a stellar RPI of 4, according to ESPN.com. If SU could somehow knock off UL – and that’s a huge “if” – then I firmly believe the ‘Cuse will have virtually sealed a bid to the Big Dance.

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. At this juncture, if the NCAA Tournament commenced today, a review of various mock brackets shows that Syracuse is, by and large, in the field of 68 following the Blue Devils victory.

CBS Sports has the Orange in the First Four as the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, taking on

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TCU, also a No. 11 seed. Boy, oh, boy. Bring this on. TCU’s first-year head coach is Jamie Dixon, who used to dominate Jim Boeheim & Co. while he led Pittsburgh.

The winner of this contest would then face Maryland, the No. 6 seed and ranked 24th this week. Another juicy match-up, at least for me personally. I grew up near Baltimore and rooted like crazy for the Terrapins as a kid and a teenager. Until, of course, I went to Syracuse starting in 1996.

ESPN.com doles out the No. 10 seed to SU in the South Region, squaring off with Minnesota, the No. 7 seed. Again, I’m salivating at the prospect of this battle.

For one, the Golden Gophers’ head coach is Richard Pitino, the son of Rick Pitino, the Louisville boss, former Boeheim assistant and nemesis of many Orange fans. Secondly, Minnesota’s athletic director is Mark Coyle, who left Central New York after less than a year on the job as Syracuse’s AD to take the same post with the Golden Gophers.

Fox Sports slots the ‘Cuse as the No. 11 seed in the West Region, paired up with Creighton, the No. 6 seed and ranked No. 23 in the land. Should SU get past the Bluejays, the Orange could then duel with the No. 3 seed in that region, Duke. Yes, please.

NBC Sports also has Syracuse going up against Minnesota in the South Region, but as a No. 11 seed, and the Golden Gophers as a No. 6 seed.

Finally, USA Today gives the ‘Cuse the No. 9 seed in the Midwest region, with the Orange’s opponent Saint Mary’s, the No. 8 seed and ranked No. 20 in the country.

All of these bracket projections are fun to discuss, especially when our boys are on the right side of the bubble. Yet this speculation is completely fluid, because a handful of regular-season games remain, as well as the conference tournaments.

Next: A Sitdown With PxP Voice for Syracuse Women’s Basketball: Brian Higgins

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again here: in my opinion, if Syracuse can reach a total of 19 triumphs, it will go dancing. Anything less, and it’s time to possibly sweat out Selection Sunday!

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