A lot has been said about whether the Orange deserved to make the NCAA Tournament. And since the Orange has advanced to the Sweet 16, more has been said about how lucky the Orange has gotten that it “only” had to play Dayton and Middle Tennessee. And yes, while the Orange may have caught a break with Middle Tennessee beating Michigan State, SU isn’t the only team to beat up on “weaker” competition on the way to the second weekend of the Tournament.
Where is the outcry about Duke, who beat 13 seed UNCW and 12 seed Yale? Or Texas A&M who toppled mighty 14 seed Green Bay before stealing a win from 11 seed Northern Iowa? Iowa State also beat a 13 and a 12, Notre Dame an 11 and a 14.
What I’m trying to say is, with the craziness and madness that surrounded the first weekend of the Tournament, it shouldn’t be looked at as a bad thing that Syracuse “only” beat a 7th seeded Dayton team and 15 seed Middle Tennessee.
Did it seem like Syracuse was overseeded when the bracket came out? Sure. Did any of our Fizz writers think the Orange would make it this far? Well, not exactly.¬†But that doesn’t mean the Orange has to apologize for crashing the party.
Maybe instead it is a statement about the conference the Orange plays in, with its record 6 Sweet 16 teams. Or maybe instead, it is a testament to a Hall of Fame coach who has been at this for 40 years.
Maybe instead of looking for the reasons why Syracuse shouldn’t be in this position in Chicago, we should look at why it¬†is here. Through two games, it’s been shooting and defense getting the job done for the Orange.
Posted By: Seth Goldberg
