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Syracuse barely makes it into the Big Dance

Syracuse barely makes it into the Big Dance, but as the 11th seed, the Orange now has its sights on a Sweet 16 date with 2nd seeded Duke in Omaha
after squeaking past its first three opponents The brackets have been filled with surprises and more surprises, lower seeds have ousted higher seeds, two top seeds have been eliminated, and finally a 16 over a No. 1

By Arnie Leshin 
Arnie Leshin

You’ve got to figure that Jim Boeheim had his opening remarks already in place.

Something like, “I would first like to thank the NCAA Selection Committee for inviting us to the Big Dance,” but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “We are just happy to be here, nothing else matters.”

The last school chosen for the men’s field of 68, the Orange is making its own statement. Barely. Three wins by a grand total of nine points, all in the final seconds. First came the play-in game of 11th seeds in Dayton, Ohio, and that brought a 2-point thriller over Arizona State.

That put it in the field. Three days later, it was a tough 5-point win over 6th seeded TCU, and on Sunday, the 55-53 nail-biter over 3rd seeded Michigan State had the Orange packing again and heading Omaha, Neb., for the Sweet 16 Friday date with 2nd seeded Duke.

Boeheim said that when the selections were made, it didn’t bother his team at all because instead of thinking NIT, it was going to Dayton in the unfamiliar role of 11th seed. No problem, except that all three victories could have gone either way. They were ascloseasthis.

Now at 23-13, it was an impressive run for a team without a bench, nothing unusual for Boeheim. The norm is about 15 players on the roster and 6 or 7
getting in the game. Why is not the question to ask a Syracuse alum, a former player with 37 years as its head coach, and one NCAA title in 2003.

In the 2013 quarterfinals against Ohio State, two Orange had fouled out, three had four personals, and two had three. No doubt that and its usual poor foul shooting wrapped up the season. No bench, except the one that Boeheim sits on to keep his assistants and non-playing reserves company.

It’s frustrating for the Syracuse faithful to watch. In the win over the Spartans, his 7-foot-2 starting post player and the 6-11 sub had four fouls each, and both had to be careful as the final minutes ticked down. One starting forward also had four fouls, and the starting guard fouled out with three minutes left. Boeheim ever had to call on 6-4 inexperienced junior walk-on Braedon Bayer in the final minutes.

And once again they survived.

One thing is for certain, Boeheim always applies his 3-2 zone, hardly even calls for a man-to-man, and this has again been his strength. First Arizona State, then TCU and Michigan State had their woes against the defense with size, long arms, and plenty of rehearsals.

The Spartans took a school-record 37 shots behind the arch and made only eight. Veteran head coach Tom Izzo, who usually has a contending team in the tournament, said they had practiced against the Syracuse zone, but all it brought was a dismal finish.

In all three games, the Orange came up with the big shots in the final minutes, and when the other teams couldn’t respond, it was just another breathless celebration for the team from upstate New York. Behind its bench supporting his former team was former All-America and NBA star, Dereck Coleman wearing a Syracuse blazer.

Next comes Duke in yet another meeting of Hall of Fame coaches Boeheim and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. For the fourth straight time, the Orange will be the underdog.

Yes, it made the dance and even has a chance to make the Final Four as it did in 2015 before losing to North Carolina. That, too, was a surprise. No bench, just players anxious to test the NBA waters that doesn’t include zone defenses.

Syracuse and Loyola of Chicago are the two lowest seeds remaining.
The UMBC team from Maryland that became the first 16th seed to defeat a No. 1 in 136 tries, had its bubble burst in Sunday’s 50-43 loss to 9th seeded Kansas State.

The second top-seed to fall was Xavier as another sixth seed, Florida State, made up a 17-point deficit to win going away, 75-70. Then there was 7th seeded Nevada coming from 22 down to stun 2nd seeded Cincinnati, 75-73.

Can’t forget 2nd seeded, defending national champion North Carolina, exiting in a brutal 86-65 setback to 6th seeded Texas A & M. The match-up of 4th seeded Auburn and 5th seeded Clemson figured to be a good one, except that the Tigers handily had the best of this with a 84-53 rout.

Same in the battle of West Virginia schools, 13th seeded Marshall and 3rd seeded West Virginia. It was never close as the Mountaineers rolled 94-71. Purdue, a second seed, moved on with a tight 76-73 win over pesky 13th seed Butler, which has played in two finals this decade.

Two top seeds are left, Villanova and Kansas. Nova has a date with West Virginia Friday in Boston. Kansas meets up with red-hot Clemson Friday in Omaha. The Kansas-Clemson, Syracuse-Duke winners play in the quarterfinals.

In the top half of that bracket, it will be the 3rd seeded Texas Tech-Purdue winner gaining the quarters versus Friday’s Villanova-West Virginia survivor.

In the other bracket played in Atlanta Thursday, it has Kansas State facing 5th seed Kentucky. The winner of that one gets the Loyola of Chicago-Nevada winner. In the lower half in Los Angeles Thursday, it is 4th seeded Gonzaga taking on 9th seeded FSU, and 3rd seeded Michigan playing 7th seeded Texas A & M.

The Big 12 has four teams still dancing, the SEC three, the ACC and the Big 10 with two, the MWC, the Big West and the MVC one each. The Pac 12 has been shut out, with Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA all losing.

Two schools each from Texas and Kansas crash the Sweet 16. The big surprises, Loyola of Chicago, Nevada, Clemson, and yes Syracuse.

Three schools have both their men’s and women’s players still in the hunt. They are Duke, FSU and Texas A & M. The tournaments began with 21 schools that had both teams dancing.

NOTE: Syracuse starts two freshmen, a sophomore, and two freshmen, except that Boeheim has been through this before. Players transfer, head for the NBA (and sometimes wind up in Europe or South America), academics, plus injuries.

This team has one senior and the only time he’s on the court if for pre-game and halftime practices. The starters have size and now they have experience.

The only possible player who might decide to put his name in the college draft is 6-foot-6 sophomore sharpshooter Tyrus Battle. Hopefully, versatile 6-8 freshman Oshae Bassett doesn’t decide the same thing. Then there’s 6-9 Swede Marek Dolezai, who knows the game, is a starter and who has suddenly found his shooting range, the 6-6 Howard as the point guard, and the program’s tallest-ever player, the 7-2 junior Paschal Chukowu.

Now if only they had a bench. It appears that instead of handing out scholarships, Boeheim would rather greet walk-ons.

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