Photo Credit: Syracuse.com
Tonight at 6:09 ET, the Syracuse Orange and the Virginia Cavaliers will face off, both teams with Final Four intentions. The winner will play either the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, or the North Carolina Tar Heels. With the sudden death format of March Madness, anything can happen.
1-Seeded Virginia, who have won all three of their games by an average margin of 19 points, will want to carry that momentum into tonight. As long as senior power forward Anthony Gill stays out of foul trouble, Virginia has a great chance to win. They know how to respond to Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, which will be key to their offense.
10-seeded Syracuse have beaten the odds, first upsetting Dayton, then going on to beat up on Middle Tennessee, and barely escaping Gonzaga by a tight score of 63-60. If senior shooting guard Trevor Cooney heats up from outside and point guard Michael Gbinije can make some free throws down the stretch, Syracuse might just be able to hang in there.
No 10 seed has ever advanced to the Final Four, and are 0-7 in Elite Eight games, with the most recent being Davidson in 2008. Davidson also had Steph Curry, who is currently one of the best shooters in the NBA. It’s safe to say that Syracuse does not have a Steph Curry on their roster.
In both Elite Eight games this year, a 2-seed has beaten a 1-seed. Tonight, we’ll see if Syracuse can defy history, or if they will fall victim to it. Many said they didn’t deserve a tournament bid. I wonder how many still think that.
~NCAA Writer, Daniel Croll~
SportsPress 
Go Cuse!
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