Bryan Hodgson will only strengthen Syracuse candidacy with Big Dance 1st-round upset

Bryan Hodgson, the rumored Syracuse basketball head coaching candidate, has his South Florida Bulls in the 2026 NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed, and numerous analysts view USF as a trendy pick to spring a first-round upset as a double-digit seed.

Entering this spring's Big Dance, the Bulls are one of the country's hottest teams, having won 11 consecutive games. South Florida (25-8 overall) captured both the American Conference regular-season title and the post-season tournament crown.

In the round of 64, Hodgson, a Western New York native, and the Bulls will battle No. 6 seed and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Louisville (23-10 overall). Whether the Cardinals' star freshman guard, Mikel Brown Jr., plays in this enticing NCAA Tournament first-round bout is something for fans of both teams to keep monitoring (Brown has been dealing with a back injury).

South Florida and Louisville are scheduled to tip off beginning at 1:30 pm EST on Thursday, March 19, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., with television coverage on TNT.

The Bulls play a fast, up-tempo style. Per KenPom, South Florida is No. 15 around the country in adjusted tempo, and USF scores in droves, averaging 87.7 points per contest, which is No. 8 nationally. Louisville, though, isn't that far behind, scoring 84.8 points per game. Defense could be optional on Thursday afternoon in Buffalo.

Bryan Hodgson could be one of the top head coaching targets for Syracuse basketball.

Speaking of Buffalo, it's awesome that South Florida has a game there. Hodgson is originally from Olean, N.Y., which is about 75 miles from Buffalo. Before serving as the head coach at Arkansas State and then USF, Hodgson was an assistant under Nate Oats with both the Buffalo Bulls and, later, Alabama.

It's terrific that Hodgson's first NCAA Tournament encounter as a head coach will reside in Buffalo. His dad, who has dementia, has never been able to watch his son coach in person. Yet Hodgson says that when his USF team suits up against Louisville, his dad will be there for the first time in person since Hodgson became a head coach.

This hits especially close to home for me, as my mom has Alzheimer's, and I take care of her. I'm so beyond happy for Bryan Hodgson, his dad and their family to have this beautiful moment together coming up.

The rumor mill is suggesting that both Syracuse basketball and Big East Conference member Providence may be heavily involved in trying to lure Hodgson from South Florida to their respective school.

We shall see how this all shakes out. For now, though, I'm rooting for Hodgson and USF to get a win in their NCAA Tournament match-up on Thursday afternoon, with Hodgson's dad looking on, proudly for sure.