Kansas' upset loss to Northern Iowa will serve notice to the other Big Boys in the tourney. Look for the Syracuse Orange to roll today in Buffalo against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Syracuse was 28-2 before losing its last regular season game at Louisville, which was the final game played in historic Freedom Hall (no shame there).
The Orange received a double-bye in the Big East tourney but lost to revenge-minded Georgetown, which Syracuse had beaten twice during the season. Still, Syracuse got a No. 1 seed though in the West Regional.
The good news here was that the school's first two games would be played in nearby Buffalo. Syracuse took care of Vermont on Friday, 79-56, shooting 54.9 percent, including 10-of-22 three-pointers (Vermont was held to 34.8 percent, 5-22 on threes).
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Gonzaga is in its 13th straight NCAA tourney, opening with a 67-60 win over Florida St. The Seminoles entered with the nation's best defensive FG percentage (37.4 percent) but they are severely offensively challenged.
In Syracuse, the Bulldogs will face Boeheim's tough zone defense plus an offense which features five double-digit scorers plus two others who add 8.9 and 8.1 PPG. The team's top scorer and rebounder is 6-foot-7 Iowa St transfer Wesley Johnson (first season at Syracuse), who is averaging 16.0-8.4.
The 6-foot-9 Arinze Onuaku (10.5-5.1) missed the Vermont game with a quad injury and is expected to miss here, but I'm not sure it matters.
Gonzaga shoots 49.4 percent and averages 77.2 PPG but the Orange is the nation's top-shooting team (51.7 percent) and average 81.4 PPG (6th-best). The Bulldogs have two big guards in Matt Bouldin (15.8-4.7-4.0) and Steven Gray (13.7-4.2) who can shoot over Syracuse's 2-3 zone.
But let's note that the Bulldogs are 0-4 vs No. 1 seeds in their previous 12 tourney appearances, and they are a long way from home while the Orange have to feel as if Buffalo is almost a home game.
The Jayhawks got upset by Northern Iowa on Saturday and Syracuse "took notice." Expect an easy win by the Orange.
Free Pick: Syracuse -6 (-110)