sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Syracuse Football Start of Spring Practice!
Orange football fans are invited to take an up-close look at this year's team during the 2017 Syracuse Football Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 22. Start time is 10 a.m. at the Carrier Dome. Admission and parking are free.
The event, which marks the culmination of the Orange's spring practice season, will feature a scrimmage, youth clinic and autograph session. Prior to the showcase, second-year head coach Dino Babers will hold 14 practices over a span of five weeks beginning on March 21.
SU News
March Madness: Tears, double takes, and then Northwestern (dailyprogress.com; AP; Pells)
There were tears in Syracuse, head-scratching about Duke and more than a few double takes at Wichita State.
At Northwestern, they simply celebrated.
On a Selection Sunday that was more about minor quibbles than pure outrage, Northwestern's first trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history stole the headlines — reminding hardcore fans and casual bracket-fillers alike that March Madness really is that time of year when anything can happen.
The forever also-rans from outside of Chicago knew they'd see their name pop up when the brackets were released, but when they did, they partied anyway. Group hugs. Selifes. A huge sigh of relief and a celebration for a Big Ten program that's always been big on smarts, short on hoops.
"I'm used to being part of all the 'firsts' here," said senior Vic Law. "I was Coach (Chris) Collins' first recruit. That belief that we all had — that vision that me and Coach Collins shared — was that this would be different."
Action in the tournament begins Tuesday with opening-round games, and things get into full swing Thursday. The Final Four starts April 1 in Phoenix.
Defending champion Villanova was the tournament's top seed, the first time a defending champion has earned that honor since Florida in 2007, when the Gators went back-to-back.
Joining Kris Jenkins and 'Nova on the "1'' line were Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga.
A few more notes and notables from Selection Sunday:
SYRACUSE: Orange coach Jim Boeheim said his players were crying when they didn't see their team's name come up during the selection show. Syracuse had an 18-14 record, nearly identical to its mark last year, when the Orange made it into the field to a chorus of protests. Syracuse responded by making a run to the Final Four. Boeheim: "I think our team was a little bit better than we were last year going into the tournament. We had the ability to win." Instead, they'll try to win in the NIT.
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Mixed Juice: Reactions to Syracuse missing 2017 NCAA Tournament - The Juice Online (the juice; Staff)
Wes Cheng: Syracuse made it to the 2016 NCAA Tournament largely on quality wins. There were wins against UCONN and Texas A&M in the non-conference schedule and then a big win against Duke on the road in the ACC portion.
My problem with the NCAA Selection Committee mostly runs with consistency, because SU’s quality wins were the most highly cited reasons why it was selected last year, yet it was largely ignored this year.
Syracuse has more top 50 wins (6) than any other bubble team, including Wake Forest. Speaking of the Deacons, SU won their only head-to-head matchup this season, and the Orange finished eighth in the ACC as opposed to Wake Forest, which finished 10th.
The NCAA presumably wants teams that can win in the tourney, and Syracuse has proven it can do that, with wins over then-top 10 teams Duke, Virginia and FSU.
If I had to point to one loss that undid the Orange, it was the ACC opener against Boston College. Assume for a moment that SU wins that game, and I believe it changes the complexion of their season.
For starters, SU finishes 11-7 in conference and removes a sub-200 RPI loss. It also finishes tied for fifth with Virginia and Duke in the ACC, and by means of head-to-head wins, Syracuse would own the tie breaker. It would’ve been extremely difficult for the committee to turn down the fifth place team in what was widely regarded as the best conference in the NCAA this year.
But alas, Syracuse didn’t do that. It was routed by the Eagles, and now it has a game against UNC Greensboro, suddenly an archrival, in the NIT.
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You've got it, Greensboro: UNCG to visit Syracuse for NIT game (greensboro.com; AP)
Suddenly the NIT has some real value. All kinds of value.
Especially here within the borders of the Gate City.
Normally a nice consolation prize for teams not invited to the NCAA tournament, the venerable NIT took on added significance when its selection committee decided to send UNC-Greensboro to Syracuse for a first-round game at the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The game will come six days after Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, upon his team's first-game exit from the first ACC tournament in New York, uttered these words at his postgame news conference: “There’s no value in playing in Greensboro. None.”
Greensboro has hosted 26 times, but Boeheim said the event belonged in “media centers” such as New York, Washington and Atlanta.
Boeheim’s remarks set off a war of words across social media.
And the NIT selection committee obviously noticed. And, lo, a first-round pairing was born.
“What the NIT committee probably wanted here was to create this kind of dialogue,” UNCG coach Wes Miller said. “It’s in the back of our minds, but we’re going to stay focused. We do feel like we represent the city of Greensboro every time we take the floor, and that won't change because we’re playing Syracuse.”
UNCG (25-9) won a share of the regular-season title in the Southern Conference and was the top seed in the SoCon tournament, losing to East Tennessee State in the championship game.
The SoCon has never sent more than one team to the NCAA tournament, so the Spartans knew the NIT awaited.
Syracuse (18-14), meanwhile, had hopes for an NCAA at-large berth. Those hopes were dashed on Selection Sunday.
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ICYMI: First Ivy League tourney was a success (dailyprogress.com; AP; Feinberg)
The inaugural Ivy League Tournament is in the books and the conference couldn't have asked for a better weekend.
There were competitive games on the men's and women's side, great crowds and the No. 1 seeds won with the Princeton men and Penn women coming out victorious..
"It was an amazing weekend," said executive director of the Ivy League Robin Harris. "I had high expectations and it exceeded them. The atmosphere, the crowds, the excitement, the way the games went. The quality of play of our teams. We had intense competitive games."
The Penn women's team beat rival Princeton on Sunday at the Palestra, cutting down the nets at home for the second time this past week.
"I can't put it into words," Quakers senior Sydney Stipanovich said. "I couldn't ask for anything more as the last four years have been amazing. I couldn't ask for better way to end my senior year."
Penn will find out who it's playing in the NCAA Tournament on Monday night. The Quakers lost to Washington last season. But with most of the team returning from that defeat, Penn is hopeful it can get the program's first NCAA win.
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Other
Slambovian Circus of Dreams
'Wicked,' Holly Bowling: 5 shows to see this week in Syracuse (March 12 to 18) (PS; Tulloch)
Need a good date night? From reggae funk at the Westcott to Broadway extravagance at the Landmark, there's a fun variety of concerts and speakers to see this week in Central New York.
1. Chris Bohjalian
The Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series will host a talk from Chris Bohjalian, the author of 18 books published in 30+ languages. Bohjalian writes about global issues like sex trafficking, mental health, trauma and the Armenian Genocide. Many of his books have become New York Times bestsellers.
Where: John H. Mulroy Civic Center at 421 Montgomery St.
When: Tuesday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m.
How much: Tickets are $35.
2. 'Wicked' at the Landmark
"Wicked" returns to the Landmark Theatre to tell the origin story of the witches from the classic "Wizard of Oz" stories by L. Frank Baum. The powerful score includes the hits "Popular," "For Good" and "Defying Gravity." The Broadway sensation has rightfully been hailed the "defining musical of the decade."
Where: Landmark Theatre at 362 S. Salina St., Syracuse.
When: Wednesday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 16 at 2 p.m., Thursday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 17 at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 18 at 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, March 19 at 1 p.m. Shows will continue next week.
How much: Tickets range from $29 to $129.
3. Holly Bowling at Funk 'n Waffles
San Francisco-based classically trained pianist Holly Bowling infuses jam band music with her technically advanced, agile style. Bowling works her magic on the songs of Phish and Grateful Dead and has performed with Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Branford Marsalis. This event is for those 18 and over.
Where: Funk 'n Waffles Downtown at 307 S. Clinton St.
When: Thursday, March 16 at 9 p.m. Doors open at 8 p.m.
How much: Tickets range from $12 to $17.
4. The Slambovian Circus of Dreams
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