Thomas Edson and Maddie Scullion
Co-Editors for Promotion
This past March and early April, Central New York took over as the College Basketball Capital of the United States. The Syracuse University Men’s Basketball team shocked the nation by pulling off two dominant victories followed by two remarkable comebacks to reach the Final Four in Houston, Texas. The SU women also made a name for themselves by recording blowout after blowout on their way to the program’s first National Championship appearance in Indianapolis.
The men’s team dominated Dayton and Middle Tennessee State in the opening rounds, and followed those performances with last minute come-from-behind victories against Gonzaga and Virginia. “It was really cool to watch the men’s team get to the Final Four especially because no one thought they should even be in the tournament,” said Jamesville-DeWitt freshman Sophia Vinciguerra. “I was jumping up and down, stressing so much when they were coming back against Virginia,” said junior Aoife McCaul.
The women’s team allowed fans to take a few more deep breaths as they set multiple program records. Four of the five victories the women had in the tournament came by double-digits. “It was fun to watch the women play. They were really good and some of them made so many highlight plays,” said junior Matt Paul.
The Syracuse men fell to North Carolina in the National Semifinal game to end a season of many ups and downs, but that ultimately was something to be truly proud of. The women’s team lost to four-time defending champion Connecticut and Syracuse-area native Breanna Stewart in the National Championship game.
Both teams are looking forward to continued success next year. The men add a highly touted recruiting class to an already strong group of players, headed by J-DHS grad Dajuan Coleman. The women also enjoy a strong recruiting class with a number of returning stars.