The last NCAA Tournament bracket completed by Joe Lunardi, the bracket guru, did not have Syracuse in the field of 68 teams set to compete in this year’s tournament.  Thankfully, the NCAA Selection Committee found Syracuse deserving of an invitation.  The rest has since been history.  The Orange were given a ten seed and upset Dayton in the first round.  They then got a little help when Middle Tennessee State knocked off Michigan State.  This allowed Syracuse to coast to an easy victory over the Blue Raiders of MTSU.  In the Sweet Sixteen, the Orange kept their momentum rolling as they escaped Gonzaga in the closing seconds to advance to the Elite Eight.  The number one seeded Virginia Cavaliers were the only thing standing between Syracuse and the Final Four.  Syracuse overcame a double-digit deficit to stun Virginia and became the first ten seed ever to reach the Final Four.  

The Tar Heels proved to be too much for the Orange.  The Cinderella journey they embarked on came to an end at the helm of a very balanced scoring attack featured by North Carolina.  Justin Jackson and Brice Johnson each scored 16 points to pace the Tar Heels.  Kennedy Meeks poured in 15 of his own while Marcus Paige piled on 13 more for the Tar Heels.  Joel Berry II stuffed the stat sheet compiling 8 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds.  Trevor Cooney notched a game-high 22 points for Syracuse.  Malachi Richardson and Michael Gbinije scored 17 and 13 points for the Orange in the losing effort.  

The game was back and forth early on as both teams took turns holding the lead.  North Carolina increased their lead to end the half and never looked back.  Syracuse didn’t seem to have any more miracles left to pull off yet another comeback like the one against Virginia as the Tar Heels rolled to a victory.  

UNC will play the Villanova Wildcats in the National Title Game.