A lot of folks are up in arms over Syracuse getting the fourth one-seed and being passed over by Duke. Personally, I get it. Cuse lost it's last two games, including their conference tournament game, and Duke won their conference tournament. We can sit here all day and compare resumes or conference strengths but at the end of the day, it is what it is and it's not really a big deal. We have bigger things to worry about at this point.
----------
I'm hearing a lot chatter that West Virginia deserved the No. 1 seed more than Syracuse. Admittedly, I can understand the argument. If you're just going off to Last Ten Played, West Virginia is the better team. And right now, SU's reputation is that we're not the same team we were four weeks ago. But there's a reason you play a full season cause in the full season, Syracuse was the better team. Syracuse had a better record, better conference record and won head-to-head. We earned the right to lose a couple games late and still get the one-seed, that's how good we've been. End of story.
----------
Gerry McNamara and Lazarus Sims see similarities between this team and the '03/'96 squads. Fellas, I appreciate it but we're not supposed to talk about this stuff. Hush on the comparison talk. At least for a couple weeks.
----------
Bummer to any die-hard Cuse fan who bought tickets to the Dome for the East Regionals. Assuming Syracuse advances to the West Regionals, they'll be playing at the same time. So, unless you're planning on spending the entire game in Club 44 (you high roller, you), you're going to have to make a choice. Even DOCTOR Gross doesn't like it. And when DOCTOR Gross doesn't like it, people DIE!!!
I like the idea of Wes Johnson turning on his inner-Rocky. I want him to go through a gritty training sequence, step into the ring feeling like the whole world is against him, prove that he can go toe-to-toe with anyone, eventually emerge victorious as champion and one day single-handidly end the Cold War. I expect all of those things to happen. What I don't want is Wes Johnson emulating the minute details from the Rocky movies, such as cutting his eyelids. So since that's happened, I'm less than pleased.
...as he spoke to reporters on Sunday night, Johnson sported an ugly scrape on his left eye-lid.
Johnson sustained the injury in the final minutes of the Georgetown game when he went up for a shot, but didn’t get a foul call.
"They were thinking of putting in stitches,’’ Johnson said of how SU’s medical staff treated the cut. "They glued it.’’
I don't care if we need to keep a caulking gun near the bench just to make sure none of Wes' body parts fall off. Get it done, coaching staff. (Plus, that significantly raises the chances of Boeheim yelling, "Get me some caulk! Guys, I need caulk!" on the sidelines)
----------
Gus Johnson is working the Syracuse-Vermont game. This does not bode well for two reasons. #1, Johnson worked the 2005 match-up. #2, No NCAA Tournament game that Gus Johnson has ever worked has not come down to a desperation shot at the buzzer. Fact.
----------
So we're all primed about the Vermont match-up. But what about the second round? I don't mean to be presumptuous, but...well, I'm going to be presumptuous. The Orange will face either 8-seed Gonzaga or 9-seed Florida State. The Zags in the 2nd round sounds intriguing. They're not the team they were four or even two years ago, but as we all know, Gonzaga does much better in the tournament when no one expects them to.
----------
CHIPOTLE ALERT! The feared burrito-maker could have an impact on the Orange. SU is 0-1 since sampling the barbacoa-goodness wrapped in a tortilla. Thanks to the ever-resourceful voteprime, we know that there are no Chipotle's in Buffalo (though there is one in nearby Niagara Falls). However, Salt Lake City is a different story. There are three Chiptole's in the greater-SLC area, one of which is within driving distance to Energy Solutions Arena. I want all SU player travel stipends revoked NOW. It's egg-whites and whole wheat toast from here on out, fellas.