I wrote out earlier this week about how the Orange can move out of the eight vs nine game in the second round of the ACC tournament and into the seven seed in a game against the winner of the 10 vs 15 game. Now, it is looking more likely that Syracuse will be in that first round game than playing the winner of it. Due to Georgia Tech’s win earlier this week, Saturday’s game is now for a bye. The winner will get to rest until Wednesday, while the loser will have to travel to Brooklyn a day earlier and take on Boston College Tuesday at 2pm.
It is still possible, however, that Syracuse does sneak out of that eight-nine game but it is looking extremely unlikely. Obviously, the Orange would have to beat the Yellow Jackets, which is no guarantee. If Syracuse does pick up its tenth ACC win, they will need two other games to go their way to climb the two necessary spots in the standings to change their schedule.
Due to Duke’s home win over Florida State earlier this week, the Orange can only jump two teams; Miami and Virginia. The Hurricanes travel north to take on Florida State in Tallahassee while Virginia plays host to lowly Pitt. Both Miami and Virginia would have to lose in order for the Orange to make that jump.
So, assuming that doesn’t happen¬†and the Orange win, who will Syracuse play in their game on Wednesday at noon? Well, that depends on the results of the other games. Syracuse can play one of three teams in that game; Virginia, Miami or Virginia Tech, who are all in a three way tie with a 10-7 ACC record. Currently, Tech sits in 6th in the conference, Miami in 7th and Virginia in 8th. That means that if they all win Saturday, Syracuse would play UVA. If UVA and Miami both win but VT loses, the Orange will play the Hookies and Syracuse will play Miami if the Hurricanes lose and Virginia wins.
There are only three teams that are locked into their seeds for the ACC tournament, so buckle up. It is going to be a crazy Saturday.
