The March Madness rooting guide for Syracuse men’s basketball fans

There’s no Syracuse Orange Apology Tour this March but don’t let the fact that Syracuse isn’t playing stop you from enjoying the best time of the college basketball season. We’ve put together the definitive rooting guide for Orange fans. There’s no bracket help here but we’ll keep you from making the mistake of telling people you’re rooting for former Big East rivals and against ACC teams.

Based on the official NCAA seeding list

1. Gonzaga (26 - 3)- Mark Few is Jim Boeheim’s friend and Jim wants him to win. So if you like Jim you too should root for his friend Mark and Chet “Slimmer Reaper” Holmgren. Yes

2. Arizona (31 - 3)- notice the hedge by Boeheim. Says he wants the Zags but picks the Wildcats. Veteran move right there and no sweaty Sean Miller on the sidelines. Yes

3. Kansas (28 - 6): Rock, chalk, if you root for Bill Self you need to take a walk. No

4. Baylor (26 - 6)- Won a title last year, do you want Scott Drew to have more than Boeheim? No

5. Auburn (27 - 5)- Going from bad to... No

6. Kentucky (26 - 7)- worse. No

7. Villanova (26 - 7)- only if they send Cole Swider a ring. Maybe

8. Duke (28 - 6)- While most of you hate Duke, if they won you could spin the whole “Syracuse would have beat them in Brooklyn with Buddy”. Yes

9. Wisconsin (24 - 7)- maybe in hockey, not hoops. Can’t reward flopping with a title. No

10. Tennessee (26 - 7)- think their shade of orange is better. No

11. Purdue (27 - 7)- So far looking like one of the better options. Yes

12. Texas Tech (25 - 9)- It would be funny if they won after Chris Beard left them for Texas. Yes

13. UCLA (25 - 7)- Mick Cronin makes this group unlikeable. No

14. Illinois (22 - 9)- ruined the title hopes of Syracuse’s most talented team. No

15. Providence (25 - 5)- if you insist on rooting for a former Big East school, this is the one. Bonus points for super creepy mascot. Yes

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16. Arkansas (25 - 8)- still haven’t forgotten them escaping after the unfortunate Moten timeout. No

17. UConn (23 - 9)- No. No. No.

18. Houston (29 - 5)- have you forgotten last year already? No

19. Saint Mary’s (CA) (25 - 7)- if you like Cinderella stories, this is the one. Yes

20. Iowa (26 - 9)- if you like father-son combinations then Yes

21. Alabama (19 - 13)- do you want to spend the next x number of years debating Nate Oats as a Boeheim replacement? If so then Yes

22. LSU (22 - 11)- strong-ass No

23. Texas (21 - 11)- see Texas Tech above. No

24. Colorado St. (25 - 5)- can they play St. Mary’s in the title game because that would be something. Yes

25. Southern California (26 - 7)- Jason Hart isn’t on the staff so No

26. Murray St. (30 - 2)- Ja Morant and a title in the same decade? Yes

27. Michigan St. (22 - 12)- N to the Izzo.

28. Ohio St. (19 - 11)- Someone just called another foul on Rakeem Christmas against Jared Sullinger. No

29. Boise St. (27 - 7)- The right colors and they aren’t obnoxious about it. Yes

30. North Carolina (24 - 9)- Go ACC? Maybe

31. San Diego St. (23 - 8)- A team Cuse beat last year? Yes

32. Seton Hall (21 - 10)- Kadary with a ring would bring a lot of off-season clicks. Yes for pageviews

33. Creighton (22 - 11)- Would lead to even more “Cuse should be in the Big East” talk. No

34. TCU (20 - 12)- root for Jamie Dixon? No

35. Marquette (19 - 12)- does Symir get a ring? No

36. Memphis (21 - 10)- do you like vacated titles? If so then Yes

37. San Francisco (24 - 9)- we can get down with the Dons. Yes

38. Miami (FL) (23 - 10)- Boeheim lookalike seems like a good option. Yes

39. Loyola Chicago (25 - 7)- cheer against Sister Jean at your own risk. Yes

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40. Davidson (27 - 6)- absolutely based on the opening round game alone. Yes

41. Iowa St. (20 - 12)- they did send us Wes Johnson. Yes

42. Michigan (17 - 14)- we haven’t forgotten Spike Albrecht. No

43. Wyoming (25 - 8)- Let’s go Fennis Dembo. Yes Those were some nice Adidas track jackets worn by the coaches at least,

44. Rutgers (18 - 13)- Fuhgeddaboudit. No

45. Indiana (20 - 13)- Cuse would have a win over the National Champs and think of the HomeField discounts we’d get. Yes

46. Virginia Tech (23 - 12)- If Storm Murphy can do so can Joe Girard. Yes

47. Notre Dame (22 - 10)- Mike Brey stole our jacket toss then stole JJ Starling. No

48. UAB (27 - 7)- Shout-out to the Metro Conference. Yes

49. Richmond (23 - 12)- not a chance. No

50. New Mexico St. (26 - 6)- they’ve been helping out the Orange football squad lately. Yes

51. Chattanooga (27 - 7)- we choo-choo-choose them. Yes

52. South Dakota St. (30 - 4)- it’s a Yes for Mike Daum’s alma mater.

53. Vermont (28 - 5)- a No from the parking lot.

54. Akron (24 - 9)- zippy do-nah

55. Longwood (26 - 6)- would be funny if they got a title before Liberty. Yes

56. Yale (19 - 11)- our favorite Connecticut university. Yes

57. Colgate (23 - 11)- might take a lot of sting out of that loss. Yes

58. Montana St. (27 - 7)- only if they bring the trophy to the Dutton Ranch. Yes

59. Delaware (22 - 12)- for all the Cooney Brothers. Yes

60. Saint Peter’s (19 - 11)- he’s the bouncer at the Pearly Gates, you tell him you weren’t pulling for his squad. Yes

61. Jacksonville St. (21 - 10)- only here because Bellarmine isn’t eligible so them beating Auburn in the opening round would be hi-larious. Yes

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62. Cal St. Fullerton (21 - 10)-how did a baseball school sneak in here? Yes

63. Georgia St. (18 - 10)- ATL stand up. Yes

64. Norfolk St. (24 - 6)- you’re bracket is going to get wrecked so just wreck everyone else’s too. Yes

65. Wright St. (21 - 13)-if they make it out of the First Four they can have our support. Yes

66. Bryant (22 - 9)- 315 stands up with Pride, Charles Pride. Yes

67. Texas Southern (18 - 12)- a familiar Orange opponent. Yes

68. A&M-Corpus Christi (23 - 11)- it’s where Buzz Williams goes on Spring Break. No Hopefully they get a couple days before Buzz shows up on the beach

There you have it. No need to make charts or look at all the fancy stats like you did when you filled out your bracket. Now let’s ease our Syracuse pain by rooting for other schools to suffer cruel March Madness exits.