Vermont draws familiar foe in Syracuse
The Vermont Catamounts are dancing again, and will face a familiar opponent in the first round of the NCAA Tournament: The Syracuse Orangemen.
After winning the America East conference tournament with an 83-70 victory over Boston Unversity to earn an automatic bid, the Catamounts were given a 16-seed and will take on the top-seeded Orangemen, the same team Vermont beat in its last NCAA Tournament appearance.
This year’s Catamounts aren’t nearly as talented as that year’s squad, but they do have Marqus Blakely, one of the nation’s most underrated stars. He went off for 24 points and 18 rebounds in the conference championship game, and the high-flyer certainly won’t go out quietly against Syracuse.
Still, there’s a reason the Orangemen earned a No. 1 seed: They’re really, really good. If Vermont can keep the game competitive into the second half, it should be seen as a victory.
