And the NCAA Tournament 68-team filed has officially been trimmed down to the Sweet 16, and luckily for Syracuse Orange men's basketball fan their team is still alive and will be trying to advance to the Final Four in New Orleans, LA, March 31-April 2.
To get there, the Orange, the No. 1 seed in the East Region of the bracket, will need to first defeat No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers Thursday in Boston, Ma., and if that happens the winner of No. 6 Cincinnati Bearcats vs. No. 2 Ohio St. Buckeyes on Saturday.
Interestingly, the East Region features a mini Big East Conference-Big Ten Conference challenge, as the Orange (33-2) and Bearcats (26-10) are from the Big East, while the Badgers (26-9) and Buckeyes (29-7) are from the Big Ten. Currently, the Big Ten programs are a combined 10-3 in the NCAA Tournament and has four teams in the Sweet 16, while the Big East is 11-5 overall and also have four schools in the Sweet 16.
The favorite to advance out of the bracket's East Region is Ohio St.
NCAA odds: Kentucky +180, Ohio St 5-1, NC 6-1, Mich St 6-1, KU 8-1, Cuse 12-1, Marq 15-1, Baylor 20-1, Flor 20-1 [via LVH]
— RJ Bell (@RJinVegas) March 19, 2012
For more on Syracuse basketball in the NCAA Tournament, check back to this SB Nation New York StoryStream.
For more on the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, stay with SB Nation's Selection Sunday StoryStream, and stick around SB Nation's NCAA Tournament hub for a complete printable NCAA Tournament bracket and tons of analysis on who was snubbed, who got the best bracket, and who will make it all the way to New Orleans and the Final Four.
