Today at 2:45 p.m. ET, No. 14 Western Michigan (23-9, 14-4 MAC) and No. 3 Syracuse (27-5, 14-4 ACC) tipoff for Round 2 of the NCAA March Madness tournament live from the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The game can be live streamed for free here and also viewed on CBS Network. Western Michigan fans can hear all of the action on WRCC 104.9 FM while Syracuse fans can do the same on WTKW 99.5.
Western Michigan won the Mid-American Conference and is hoping to carry that momentum in the tournament while Syracuse enters as the third seed and knows the pressure is on.
"It could be my last game, but as a team we want to prolong the season, not get it get cut short," C.J. Fair, the Orange's leading scorer with 16.7 points per game, said Wednesday via ESPN. "Hopefully, we win [Thursday], get the first game under our belt, and we can get it going."
The Broncos enter the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade and just fourth in school history, but they have plenty of experience. The team is led by two fifth-year seniors in Shayne Whittington and guard David Brown as well as sophomore forward Connar Tava.
Brown was the MVP of the MAC conference tournament and led the conference with 19.4 points per game while Whittington averaged 16.3 points and 9.1 rebounds during the regular-season. Tava led the team with 90 assists during the regular-season.
"We pride ourselves in our inside-out game, getting the ball in the paint," Whittington said, according to ESPN. "So, developing that and getting their mind on that early, maybe it will help them sink a little bit so we can have a few 3-pointers."
Syracuse has a stingy zone defense, allowing just 59.5 points per game, but Fair doesn't think their defense will surprise anybody.
"I believe probably everyone in this tournament played against a team that ran the zone at some point," Fair said per ESPN. "I don't think it gives us an advantage."
Syracuse will look for that defense to lift them through the tournament after starting out with 25 straight wins but ultimately losing five of its last seven.
"Defense has been what we bank ourselves on," Tyler Ennis told ESPN. "Our offense can struggle, but if we're defending we can still win games. We're kind of locked in again and we're back in one group."
Syracuse is playing in Buffalo, which could give them an advantage while Western Michigan is fine with having to overcome a tough obstacle.
"I think we play a little bit better when we know there's a little more adversity," Whittington told ESPN. We like that kind of environment. We thrive on that."
March Madness continues when Western Michigan and Syracuse take the court at the First Niagara Center today in Buffalo.
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