If Jim Boeheim isn’t sweating somewhere watching conference tournaments play out, then you probably are. Syracuse seems to be squarely on the fence for the NCAA Tournament. Here’s a compilation of where some top bracketologists have the Orange and who you the Syracuse fan should root for on Saturday.

Joe Lunardi, ESPN – First four out

Lunardi has Syracuse as his second team out of the field behind St. Mary’s. Right behind the Orange is Michigan, which plays Purdue in the Big 10 semifinals on Saturday.

Jerry Palm, CBS Sports – Last four in

Palm puts the orange as the last team in the tournament, with Michigan, Wichita St. and Monmouth ahead of SU in the “Last four in” group. His “first four out” all include teams that have no games left to play in their conference tournaments.

Seth Davis, Sports Illustrated – Last four in

Davis tweeted out his projections Saturday morning, and he has Syracuse as his second-to-last team in ahead of Wichita State. Davis also placed Michigan and UConn directly ahead of Syracuse, so those two teams essentially control their own destinies.

Dave Ommen, NBC Sports – First four out

Ommen also puts SU as his second team out of the field, but this time behind the Wolverines. Vanderbilt and Florida are in that group as well, but both have already lost in the SEC tournament. Of his “last four in,” only VCU is still playing.

Shelby Mast, USA TODAY – First four out

Mast has Syracuse the deepest of any of the aforementioned brackets, putting Syracuse as the third team out behind Florida and St. Mary’s. Michigan sits in the “last four in,” and once again, will have a game SU fans will be watching closely on Saturday.

Stewart Mandel, FOX Sports – 10 seed

Mandel has the Orange in the most favorable spot – not even in the “last four in” group. He has Jim Boeheim and Co. facing seventh-seeded Seton Hall in the first round in Spokane, Washington.

 

Who to root for if you’re a Syracuse fan

Michigan vs. Purdue – 1 p.m. – CBS

Syracuse is rooting hard for the Boilermakers here. After the Wolverines pulled off a miraculous upset of Indiana on Friday, a win against another top 15 team would solidify their spot in the field and possible knock the Orange out for good.

Texas A&M vs. LSU – 1 p.m. – ESPN

The Orange is rooting for Texas A&M, not only to make its Battle 4 Atlantis title game win against the Aggies look better, but to prevent LSU from creeping onto the bubble or even stealing a bid in the SEC title game.

Connecticut vs. Temple – 3 p.m. – ESPN2

This one is hard to tell. In some brackets Temple is more on the bubble than UConn, but my inclination is to say Syracuse fans should root for the Owls. Yes, the Huskies four-overtime win looks impossible to turn down for a bid, but UConn is still on the bubble and a loss would knock them down a peg (and Syracuse has the head-to-head advantage).

Georgia vs. Kentucky – 3:25 p.m. – ESPN

The Bulldogs have slowly crept onto the back side of the bubble and a Kentucky win would throw them completely off, so SU should root for the Wildcats here to prevent any bid-stealing in Athens.

Davidson vs. VCU – 4 p.m. – CBS Sports Network

It seems that the Rams are still on the bubble despite beating UMass by 15 on Friday, so Davidson win (but loss in the Atlantic-10 tournament finals) would serve Syracuse well. The Wildcats aren’t in unless they win the tournament and VCU could be wading in treacherous waters with a loss on Saturday.

Fresno State vs. San Diego State – 6 p.m.

In the Mountain West title game, the Aztecs have a chance to lock up a bid that they’ll most likely receive anyway. Fresno St. could steal one and shrink the bubble with a win, so Syracuse should be rooting for San Diego St. in this one.

 

 

Published on March 12, 2016 at 10:40 am

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman