The Connecticut Huskies are the reigning college basketball champs. Syracuse is a perennial contender that's two seasons removed from the Final Four.
Both may be watching March Madness from their couches in 2015.
Early 2015 NBA Draft Prospects
The Huskies and the Orange have come out of the gate flat to start the season, limping to a 4-4 and 6-3 start, respectively. Both's resumes are blotted with blemishes -- UConn scored just 44 points in a loss to Yale, while Syracuse was smacked around by Cal and St. John's, and barely survived an unassuming Louisiana Tech team at home.
Connecticut had a chance to log a signature win last night against Duke on a neutral court, but the Blue Devils cruised to a 10-point victory. UConn only has two non-conference games remaining against notable opponents (Stanford and Florida). It'll need to at least split those two if they hope to build a case for the Tournament. Otherwise, the AAC Tournament's automatic bid might be their only path to March.
Syracuse needs to find easier ways to score the ball. This is a team that lost its three best players in CJ Fair, Tyler Ennis, and Jerami Grant last year. Junior Trevor Cooney is a good shooter, but he battles prolonged cold stretches that hurt the team's ability to space the floor and punish underzealous defenses. Syracuse has five games remaining against teams currently ranked in the top ten. It's hard to see how they win any of them.
Syracuse and UConn are staples of college basketball dominance. Only twice in the last 17 years have we seen a season where both squads missed out on March Madness. Don't be surprised if we see a third.
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