The Syracuse basketball program ended Big East Conference regular season play with 107-59 romping of the DePaul Blue Demons on Saturday. The victory was the fifth consecutive for the Orange (25-6, 12-6 Big East) who seem to be playing their best basketball has they enter the postseason, which begins Thursday for SU.
Syracuse enters the Big East Tournament as a No. 4 seed and is a lock to make the NCAA Tournament. However, there's still a lot to play for besides the program's sixth Big East Tournament title. Currently, out of six websites, SU is either earning a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the latest 68-team NCAA Tournament fields, updated Wednesday or Thursday.
According to Bracketology 101 (updated Thursday) and CBSSport.com's Jerry Palm (updated Wednesday), the Orange deserve a No. 2 seed. However, SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean (Thursday), ESPN's Joe Lunardi (Thursday), SI.com's Andy Glockner (Thursday) and FoxSports.com's Jordan Schwartz (Thursday) all predict SU will earn a No. 3 seed. So, a Big East championship or a finals appearance probably will solidify a No. 2 seed come Sunday when CBS announces the 68-team bracket during its selection show.
The St. John's Red Storm (20-10, 12-6) are a unanimous No. 4 seed, but could move up to No. 3 with a finals appearance.
The Pittsburgh Panthers (27-4, 15-3) are a unanimous No. 1 seed and probably wont move from there even with a loss in the quarterfinals. However, Notre Dame Fighting Irish need a win or two to cement their current No. 1 seed, which has been given to them by five different websites -- Lunardi has the Irish at No. 2.
Most Bracketologist have the Big East Conference earning 11 NCAA Tournament berths, but the Marquette Golden Eagles are on the bubble. A first-round loss against the Providence Friars Tuesday would more than likely knock out the Golden Eagles.
Here's the breakdown of the Big East Conference bracketology results to give you an idea of what teams are playing for:
ESPN's Lunardi (11 teams): Pitt (No. 1 seed), Notre Dame (2), Syracuse (3), St. John's (4), Louisville Cardinals (4), UConn (5), West Virginia Mountaineers (5), Georgetown Hoyas (6), Villanova Wildcats (7), Cincinnati Bearcats (7) and Marquette Golden Eagles (10).
SB Nation's Dobbertean (11): Pitt (1), ND (1), SU (3), Louisville (4), St. John's (4), WVU (5), UConn (5), Cincinnati (6), Georgetown (6), 'Nova (8) and Marquette (12).
Bracketology 101 (11): Pitt (1), ND (1), Syracuse (2), Louisville (4), St. John's (4), WVU (5), UConn (5), Georgetown (6), Cincinnati (6), Villanova (7), Marquette (11).
SI.com's Glockner (11): Pitt (1), ND (1), SU (3), Louisville (4), St. John's (4), WVU (4), UConn (5), Cincinnati (6), Georgetown (6), 'Nova (7) and Marquette (9).
FoxSports.com's Schwartz (11): Pitt (1), ND (1), SU (3), Louisville (3), St. John's (4), WVU (4), Cincinnati (5), Georgetown (5), UConn (6), 'Nova (8) and Marquette (9).
CBSSports.com's Palm (11): Pitt (1), ND (1), SU (2), Louisville (4), St. John's (4), WVU (5), UConn (5), Cincinnati (6), Georgetown (6), 'Nova (7) and Marquette (11).