March is finally here, but before the madness truly begins, Syracuse (17-13, 9-8) has one last regular season game, as it hosts Georgia Tech (17-13, 8-9) on Saturday.
It will be Senior Day in the Carrier Dome, but this game carries a lot more significance than just honoring the likes of Dejuan Coleman, Andrew White, John Gillon, Tyler Roberson and Doyin Akintobi-Adeyeye. The Orange needs a win to bolster its hopes of making the NCAA Tournament.
The game could also have implications on the ACC conference tournament as well. With a win and losses by Virginia and Miami, Syracuse could move all the way up to the seventh seed in the field, up from ninth where it currently sits. A loss would drop them below Georgia Tech, who would win the tiebreaker and 'Cuse could fall as far as eleventh if Wake Forrest beats Virginia Tech. A drop would also cost Syracuse it's first round bye in the tournament.
SU vs. GT tips at 4 pm. Countdown to Tipoff begins at 3:30.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim will be looking to avoid a repeat of the last time these two teams met. The Yellow Jackets prevailed 71-65 while holding Syracuse to just 36 percent shooting as a team. Tech's junior center Ben Lammers punished the Orange with 23 points, while junior guard Tadric Jackson added 20 off the bench.
However, this game is in Central New York, not Atlanta. Syracuse has won eight of its last nine games at home, with the only exception being an overtime loss to Louisville.
Syracuse freshman Tyus Battle has reemerged, breaking out of about a month-long slump where he shot 34 percent from the field and 21 percent from beyond the arc. The New Jersey native scored 38 points over his last two games and is shooting at a much more efficient rate.
However, if 'Cuse has any hope of pulling off a win, point guard John Gillon will need to have a better performance than the last time he face Georgia Tech. In the loss, the Colorado State transfer tallied just seven points on two of ten shooting from the floor. He dished out six assists, but also registered five turnovers on the night.
Win or lose, Syracuse will start its postseason with the ACC Tournament in the upcoming week. Depending on the result of the game, the Orange will play either Tuesday or Wednesday in their first game of the tournament.