Andrew White & Syracuse basketball’s 2017 NCAA Tournament path

Almost two months ago I wrote a column discussing how Andrew White III could take the Syracuse Orange from an NCAA Tournament team to being a Final Four contender. With the official announcement that White will wear Orange this season (and the same color as his last name on home games), that still holds true. Syracuse now has a loaded roster that’s two deep at every position.

Now that White is at Syracuse, the Orange have a real chance (Boeheim parlance) to earn a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament. Why is a top four seed so imperative? Well of course, the higher seed earned in the tournament, the better. But should Syracuse earn a top four seed in the 2017 NCAA Tourney, it would have the chance to play in the east region.

The east region is of major geographic importance this season as Buffalo is hosting the first and second round tournament games while Madison Square Garden is hosting the regional. If Syracuse earns a top four seed, it could set itself up with a path to the Final Four without having to leave the state of New York. This is good because it would piss people like Doug Gottlieb off as well as garner obsolete perspective from ESPN folk, et al, that love to explain how every Syracuse game is a home game. And again, this is something that we’re truly sorry for.

If Syracuse has a strong showing in the non-conference and ACC regular season, there’s no reason to think the Orange can’t earn a top four seed. There’s nothing stopping Syracuse from playing in the east region either, as long as the selection committee decides to play nice. Per the NCAA website, “a team will not be permitted to play in any facility in which it has played more than three games during the season.” Phew. Syracuse only plays at MSG once this season — thankfully the ACC Tournament is at Barclays. So this eliminates any logistical concerns.

Cheers to Andrew White and Syracuse — here’s to hoping we can collectively piss off everyone that despises Syracuse basketball. Let the Jim Boeheim middle finger tour reign on.