The Syracuse Orange found out their road to annexing Atlantis on Thursday. It begins with a November 25 tilt against the Charlotte 49ers. From there, the whole road to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship depends on who wins and who loses.
In their second game, Syracuse will either play the Connecticut Huskies or the Michigan Wolverines on Thanksgiving. One would be a quirky rivalry reboot and the other would be a chance for a little revenge (again).
After that, the Orange could end up playing one of four teams: the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Washington Huskies, Texas Longhorns or Texas A&M Aggies.
So the question is, which two teams would you like to see Syracuse play in the 2nd and 3rd game?
John Cassillo
UConn, obviously, as the first one. And from there, it's A&M. I won't be at B4A, but since I always enjoy their fan base, it'd be fun to interact with them about Syracuse should we both make it to the final. Good Bull Hunting is a fantastic site, if you don't already frequent it.
Dan Lyons
UConn's obviously the big one. It is the only major Big East rivalry we haven't gotten back on track, and while I'm glad we got Georgetown settled first, it would be nice to play the Huskies again at some point. For the final game, I'll go with Texas. There are a number of name programs on that side of the bracket, but I think Shaka Smart's havoc defense would be a good test for our guards and expose our guys to a new style of play that we won't see that often in the ACC. That experience could pay off come March.
James Szuba
UConn, and then for the final game, I'd like to see Syracuse go up against Texas as they didn't get to play in last year's 2K Classic. They have a lot of talent on their roster and it would be a great chess match between Jimmy and Shaka. I'd also like to see a Zags matchup and see how one of the best players in college ball (Wiltjer) attacks the zone. The zags boast a great frontcourt, so it would be a great challenge for our unproven guys in the back of the zone.
Andy Pregler
I mean, the obvious answer is UConn. It would be an amazing game and I don't really care what happens after we beat them, but playing Texas could be really interesting. They're obviously a team in transition, but beating a Smart coached team is no small deal. It would be a good test for our young team
Michael Burke
In that second game, UConn is the answer for obvious reasons. After the Huskies, I'd like to see Syracuse run into Gonzaga. Between Kyle Wiltjer, Domantas Sabonis and Przemek Karnowski, the Bulldogs have one of the country's best frontcourts. It'd provide a nice early season test for DaJuan Coleman, who we haven't seen play in almost two years, and Tyler Roberson, who's going to attract more attention from opposing defenses in 2015-16, now that Rakeem Christmas is gone.
Sean Keeley
UConn is the obvious choice for the 2nd game. How weird will that be to watch Syracuse take on UConn in a tiny gym in the Bahamas on Thanksgiving? You have to make that happen. After that, I'll put my vote in for Washington because I really want to whip the smug grin off Art Thiel's face for this column (I actually like Art but...grrrr....).
How about you?