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NIT: Upsets So Far Should Make Syracuse Basketball Nervous

By Josh Peelman

Mar 4, 2017; Syracuse, NY, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets center Ben Lammers (44) drives the ball as Syracuse Orange forward Tyler Lydon (20) during the second half of a game at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won 90-61. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Syracuse, NY, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets center Ben Lammers (44) drives the ball as Syracuse Orange forward Tyler Lydon (20) during the second half of a game at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won 90-61. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /
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Syracuse Basketball is through to the next round of the NIT, but most tops seeds playing on their home court weren’t as lucky. We take a look at the upsets so far, make news predictions, and let you know who the Orange should be nervous about as they make a run towards the NIT Championship.

Syracuse Basketball did what they needed to and took care of business. They beat an underdog who clearly had everything to play for. When your season’s on the line and you’re playing in a huge venue like Syracuse, you want to come out with a win. UNC Greensboro wasn’t that lucky. Other top contenders weren’t though.

Andrew White shot lights out against the UNC Greensboro Spartans going 11-15 from the field and shooting 7-8 from downtown. Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Andrew White shot lights out against the UNC Greensboro Spartans going 11-15 from the field and shooting 7-8 from downtown. Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /

This NIT has been anything but normal. There have been upsets galore since the tournament started on Tuesday, and many thought Syracuse Basketball might be the next victim. Syracuse showed up though, showed no hangover from NCAA disappointment, and came ready to play.

For many top teams who just barely missed the NCAA tournament, its hard to want to come and play your best game when you’re still upset you didn’t make it. The NIT feels like a participation award as Inside the Loud House Site Expert Paul Esden Jr said the other day in our roundtable. However, for Grad-Transfers and seniors who have only minutes left in their college career, they have everything to play for, and Syracuse has quite of few of those.

You could see it in the faces and play of Tyler Roberson, Andrew White, and John Gillon. They were out there having fun, being loose and taking advantage of the opportunity to play for SU at least one more time. None exemplified this more than Andrew White III who just went off and shot a ridiculous 11-for-15 from the field (73%) and 7-of-9 from three according to ESPN.com. As mentioned in my article, that’s a 78% clip from three. That is extremely impressive and shows that he is loving playing out there.

Top Teams Who’ve Fallen:

Other top teams in this NIT tournament haven’t had the same output as Syracuse players though. As a result, there have been a lot of upsets. Here’s a list of top seeds who have fallen so far (via the updated bracket from CBSSports.com):

No. 1 Seeds: (1 team) California

No. 2 Seeds: (3 teams) Georgia, Clemson, Houston

No. 3 Seeds (All 4 teams) Indiana, BYU, Alabama, and Boise State

Below is the Updated Bracket:

Why Syracuse Basketball Should be Nervous:

Not only are lower-seeded teams beating top seeds, they are doing so on the road. Of the list I made above, 7 of the 8 seeds lost on their home floor. The one exception was Indiana who didn’t play at home (because of reasons….) and lost on the road. That makes them the only top seed above not to play at home and lose.

In the first half, UNC Greensboro played like those other lower seeds. They played with heart and it showed. They hung in until the last couple minutes of the first half when Syracuse finally figured them out. For a little while it seemed they also could pull the upset.

So should Syracuse be nervous? I say yes, because these other teams have something to play for. They have a chance to beat someone decent. To these lower-seeded teams, these are their super bowl games, if you will. These games are something they live for and crave the opportunity to show what they can do against the best. So Syracuse shouldn’t treat these teams lightly going forward. Fortunately for SU, so far, so good.

Updated NIT Predictions

Due to all the unlikely upsets by lower seeds on the road, I really missed on most of my predictions going into the tournament. Therefore, I have created my new predictions below. This time around I’ll just do this round of games (as this tournament has been very unpredictable).

Syracuse Region:

  • (1) Syracuse beats (5) Ole Miss
  • (6) Georgia Tech beats (7) Belmont

The Colorado St Region (Formerly: California Region, but Seeds 1-3 lost)

  • (8) CSU Bakersfield beats (4) Colorado State
  • (6) UT Arlington beats (7) Akron

Illinois State Region:

  • (4) UCF beats (1) Illinois State
  • (2) Illinois beats (6) Boise State

Iowa Region:

  • (1) Iowa beats (4) TCU
  • (6) Richmond beats (7) Oakland

Next: SU Basketball: Andrew White Sets SU Season Three’s Record

Lots of upsets are still possible in this NIT bracket, but if this Syracuse Basketball stays focused they’ll advance to the quarterfinals. Let’s hope they take my advice and don’t take teams lightly.

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