Syracuse fans are surely hoping that it is not about to be deja vu all over again. The Orange are set to play in the 8-9 game on Wednesday afternoon in the second round of the ACC tournament, with a win essentially locking up an NCAA tournament bid. Sound familiar? Well that is because this is almost the exact situation that the Orange found themselves in last season against Pitt in Washington D.C. Needless to say, Orange fans are looking for a different result this time around.
So, what do you need to know?
The Orange will play Miami at noon on Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. 
This is the most basic and important thing to know. Syracuse will be in action right smack dab in the middle of your work day and the game will be televised on ESPN 2. So maybe take an extended lunch break or consider blowing off work all together because this game should be a doozy. These teams met early in ACC play and it was the first sign that the Orange might just be able to turn around their disastrous season. The Orange paced the Hurricanes for all forty minutes, winning the game 70-55 at the Carrier Dome. Tyler Lydon and Andrew White both posted 20+ points and the Orange shot 56% from the field. This game was the beginning of Jim Boeheim’s shortened rotation and the rest, as they say, is history.
So, how can the Orange replicate that impressive result? Well, the easy answer is hit their shots. Miami holds their opponents to about 40% from the field but the Orange, through impressive passing and lights-out three point shooting were able to overcome that. Andrew White III showed once again that he is more than capable of taking over a game with his shooting in his forty point performance against Georgia Tech on Saturday.
The Orange also played extremely high energy defense in that game, holding the Hurricanes to 39% from the field, and Miami finished the game with only 55 points. It is all about the 2-3 zone. This is nothing new.
North Carolina Awaits the Winner
The prize for the winner of the Syracuse-Miami game is a date with the ACC regular season champion North Carolina Tar Heels on Thursday afternoon. That, however, is something that we will worry about if the Orange get past the ‘Canes.
If you are so inclined, you can check out the full bracket here.
Orange Fizz will have complete, wall-to-wall coverage from the ACC Tournament starting tomorrow for Syracuse’s game against Miami. Follow @OrangeFizz on Twitter for updates from the Barclays Center.¬†
