This year has been interesting to say the least for the Syracuse Orange. Starting off 25-0 and ending the season 27-5 does not happen all that often. The Orange this season have been unpredictable defeating high rank teams such as Duke, Villanova, Baylor, UNC and Pittsburgh. In the same season they lost to Boston College and Georgia Tech. The point here is that Syracuse has the potential to beat any team in the tournament but they can also lose early on.
Last year if you read my preview you would see that Syracuse was a team of runs and I thought they would catch fire in the tournament and reach the Final Four and they did. This year I believe it is a little different. Their seeding is good at 3, but they lie in a tough South region consisting of Florida, Kansas, UCLA, VCU, Pitt, Ohio State and New Mexico. I do not believe the Orange will lose in their first round matchup to Western Michigan because the Broncos have not played a team of Syracuse's caliber and will have trouble matching up. After they advance they could run into some trouble in the round of 32 whether they meet Ohio State or Dayton. Especially if Ohio State defeats Dayton the Orange could have a tough time. With senior leader Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith Jr. in the back court they are already a dangerous team. Combine that with LaQuinton Ross and Amir Williams and the Buckeyes are a threat to any team in the tournament. I still believe Syracuse will pull off a close victory and advance to the Sweet Sixteen. In this next game I believe they will go down to a very strong and talented Kansas team. Syracuse can actually matchup with them except at the center position. If Joel Embiid is healthy for this game the Orange will go down because neither Rakeem Christmas or Baye Keita will be able to handle him along with Perry Ellis down low. As much as I would like to be proved wrong, I do not see Syracuse making it any further than this.
The key to the Orange success in this tournament is their shooting. They have multiple threats that can score from any range such as Trevor Cooney, C.J. Fair and Tyler Ennis. Many college teams now are transferring to zone which means if these guys are locked down from outside it will make their offense come a lot easier. Cuse has the potential to go extremely far in the tournament, but they have to buckle down and play hard.
C.J. Fair
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