Making the case ...
For Syracuse
BY THE NUMBERS
Syracuse season stats (with NCAA rank):
Scoring offense:
70.1 (248)
Scoring defense:
64.6 (25)
Scoring margin: 5.5
(82) Rebounding mar
gin: -.7 (213) Field goal %: 42.5
(247)
Three-point %: 36.1
(113) Three-pointers
made: 307 (27) Free throw %: 69.4
(188) Assist-to-turnover ratio: 1.15 (115)
Figuring out how a No. 10 seed is going to win the national title isn’t easy.
But Syracuse isn’t just any No. 10 seed; it’s a team coached by a Hall of Famer and featuring at least two highly talented players who eventually will be NBA draft picks. So don’t think of Syracuse like George Mason or Virginia Commonwealth making a Final Four, think of the Orange more like the Connecticut team that came to the Final Four in 2014 as a surprising but pedigreed No. 8 seed and sprung two more upsets to win it all.
The biggest thing Syracuse might have going for it this weekend is the venue. NRG Stadium is a bad place for shooting, likely because of the deep backdrop behind the baskets and the general enormity of the stadium. There have been 12 NCAA tournament games played at NRG in the current full stadium setup, and the overall three-point percentage is a paltry 29.6%. There might be statistical noise in that number, but the sample size sug- gests there’s something to it.
And given how difficult it is to get the ball inside against Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone, that plays right into Jim Boeheim’s hands. Obviously, beating North Carolina will require Syracuse to reverse the outcome of both games they played during the Atlantic Coast Conference season, but the first meeting was a one-possession game with three minutes left at the Carrier Dome and the second was a three-point game with 1:15 left before North Carolina scored the decisive basket on an offensive rebound. Those results suggest Syracuse can beat the Tar Heels, who are not a good three-point shooting team at 32.1% for the season.
If North Carolina can’t make jumpers and Syracuse moves on to the championship round, all bets are off. Remember, the Orange have plenty of talent. Every player in their rotation was rated as a four-star recruit in high school with the exception of senior Trevor Cooney. Freshmen Malachi Richardson and Tyler Lydon are highly regarded as NBA prospects and have played their best basketball in the tournament. Some still think Syracuse shouldn’t be here, but the Orange have enough to win two games.