FanNation - The Republic of Sport

3/10/08

It's March, it's championship week, and for the third year in a row, Syracuse sits uncomfortably on the bracket's bubble.

Where are you Gerry McNamara when we need you?

It was just two seasons ago, the Orange showed up in New York with little hope of an NCAA tournament invite, but the senior guard had other ideas.

Big 3 after big 3, he almost single-handedly willied his team past Cincinnati in the first round with a running 3 from the top of the key, setting up a battle with UCONN, the number one team in the country at the time.

Geryy hit another big three at the end of the game forcing overtime, and after a Marcus Williams shot missed at the buzzer, Syracuse had stunned the Huskies, and the rest of the college basketball world.

Next was Georgetown, and after being down big at half, Syracuse didn't take its first lead of the night until there were just seconds remaining when guess who- Gerry McNamara stole the ball and fed it to freshman Eric Devendorf who layed it up for the Orange's first lead of the night, sending them to the title game against Pitt.

In their 4th game in as many days, Syracuse had gotten too far to turn back, and once again Gerry was on from down town, and he led Syracuse to their second consecutive Big East Championship, along with earning an automatic bid to the big dance, when at the start of the week many believed Syracuse wasn't even a long shot to be dancing.

Last year they were the recipient of what many consider to be a snub from the selection committee, however as a student who watched them all season, last years team was hardly a lock to be part of the tournament teams.

They were inconsistent all season, and when they reached New York many believed one win would have been enough to secure them a ticket, however despite knocking off UCONN, they lost to Notre Dame and the rest as they, is history.  

This season, they head to New York as big a question mark as ever.

They might very well be the biggest bubble team in the country, as they will show up Wednesday to take on Nova in a loser-go-home matchup.

Both teams finished with 9-9 conference records, and whlie a win in no way assures either team of anything, a loss will all but certainly end their tournament hopes.

And so, with Gerry McNamara somewhere in Europe, the Orange will have to rely on their very talented but very inexperienced (not to mention undermanned) squad at the Garden on Wednesday.

There is nothing like Big East basketball, and this week, the stage is set for another 4 days of memorable action.

Hopefully, for the sake of the Syracuse and Jimmy Boeheim, the Big Apple becomes the Big Orange.