Syracuse's Potential Match-ups In March

As March approaches, all of the major websites start to put out their bracket predictions and fans start to get an idea of who their team may face. Let’s take a look at Syracuse’s opponent’s potentially and how they match up with them.

ESPN.com — Joe Lunardi has the Orange as a two-seed in Philadelphia playing the 15th seeded Northeastern Huskies. My, how far the CAA has fallen, as they used to be talking multiple bids and lower seed numbers. The Huskies beat Belmont this season and came within two points of beating La Salle. Joel Smith is the team’s best long range shooter, and is averaging 17 points per game. Nerve factor is low as they are not a deep team and probably won’t match up well.

CBSSports.Com — Jerry Palm has Syracuse as a three-seed in Philadelphia playing the 14th seed Stony Brook. They are 19-6, and presumably would be representing the America East conference. They lost by 11 at UConn, one vs. Seton Hall and seven at Maryland. The Seawolves are led by Jameel Warney, who scores 12 points per game and shooter who makes more then 40% from three-point land. They are not the tallest team in the world either, so nerve factor is low in this one.

CNNSI.com — Andy Glockner has Syracuse as a two seed in Philadelphia against 15th seed Florida Gulf Coast. They are 19-8, and would be representing the Atlantic Sun. The name doesn’t strike fear into most fans, but they beat Miami in November. They have played VCU and Duke as well, so they won’t be afraid of the name. Sherwood Brown is the team’s leading scorer and their best long range shooter. They are a taller team, with a pair of players at 6-10. This would be a scary match-up for a fan base that sweated out a game against UNC Asheville last season.

The Media — The media held another mock exercise in Indianapolis this year where the committee takes them through the process of making a bracket. They put the Orange as a three-seed in Dayton against 14th-seeded Davidson, who scares me even to type. The Wildcats are no stranger to upsets in March and have not picked up too many wins against big powers, although they have taken on Gonzaga and Duke.  They are balanced enough to beat you deep and from the inside. I’d go out on a limb and say the Wildcats move on in this one.