Syracuse’s road to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament has to go through some strong teams along the way. Montana, UNLV and California are all teams the Orange will or could face this weekend, and each of them present different challenges for Syracuse. Depending on which Orange team shows up – the one that lost four out of five games to end the regular season, or the one that won three games in the Big East tournament – it’s very possible Syracuse could meet an early exit.

Montana

The 13th-seeded Grizzlies finished the season 25-6, and went 19-1 in the Big Sky Conference. And they did that while dealing with several injuries to some of its best players, including one that ended leading scorer Mathias Ward’s season. That’ll unquestionably hurt Montana on Thursday against Syracuse. But the Grizzlies are still a strong team in other areas. They’re fifth in the nation in free-throw shooting percentage, going 76.8 percent from the line. Syracuse is 231st at 67.5 percent. So the Orange will have to be mindful not to give the Grizzlies too many chances at the line.

Montana’s also a good shooting team. It’s ranked 23rd in the country in field-goal percentage at 47.4 percent. The Grizzlies average 18 3-pointers per game, and are shooting 38.5 percent from the arc, good for 19th in the nation. Jordan Gregory is the team’s best 3-point shooter right now. The sophomore guard is shooting 44.1 percent from the perimeter.

The Grizzlies are rolling into the NCAA Tournament. They’ve won their last six games, including a Big Sky Conference tournament championship. This is their second straight season with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Overall, Montana is 2-10 in the Tournament.

UNLV

The Running Rebels, seeded No. 5, finished the regular season 25-9, including a 10-6 record in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV is a good rebounding team, ranked sixth in the nation in boards per game at 40.1. The Running Rebels also average about 28.1 defensive rebounds per game, so that’s an area Syracuse would need to be careful of if they meet. UNLV is also ninth in the country in assists at 16.2 per game, with Anthony Marshall handing out about 5.8 per game.

UNLV isn’t a tremendous shooting team from deep, which could really hurt it against Syracuse’s zone. The Running Rebels are shooting 33 percent from the arc. Anthony Bennett, a 6-foot-8 forward, is averaging 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Against most teams, Bennett creates matchup problems. But Syracuse’s forwards match him in height, whether he’s against James Southerland or Jerami Grant, who are both 6-foot-8 also. So an area that was an advantage for the Running Rebels most of the season won’t help much against the Orange should they meet in the second round.

California

If Syracuse ends up playing No. 12 seed Cal (20-11, 12-6 Pac-12) in the second round, it could be a tough matchup. First off, San Jose is only about 50 miles south of Berkeley, Calif., where the Golden Bears’ campus is located. Second, the Bears have some good wins this season. They beat then-No. 10 Oregon 58-54 back on Feb. 2, then-No. 7 Arizona 77-69 on Feb. 10, and then-No. 23 Oregon again 48-46 on Feb. 21. Cal also beat UCLA 76-63.

California also has the Pac-12 Player of the Year in Allen Crabbe, who’s averaging 18.7 points and six rebounds per game. His 18.7 points per game ranks him 35th in the country. Justin Cobbs, meanwhile, 15.7 points and 4.8 assists per game for the Golden Bears.

California is a strong team that could pose a tough matchup for Syracuse in the second round if both advance.

Published on March 20, 2013 at 3:09 pm

Contact Chris: cjiseman@syr.edu | @chris_iseman