The Orange are notoriously sticky this time of year, as their swarming defense forces even worse shooting that most unnerved teams experience in the first round. They came on strong just in time (again) to snag a bid, with three straight wins in the ACC Tournament before falling at the buzzer to Virginia. Buddy Boeheim also is one of the hottest offensive players in the NCAA Tournament. The battle-tested and experienced Aztecs have won 14 straight, but the bulk of those came against middling Mountain West opponents. This is a good spot for the underdog as the points might come into play.

Midwest Region game between No. 11 Orange and No. 6 Aztecs. Have you seen Syracuse play away from the Carrier Dome this season? Just awful. It's always better to face the Orange on the first game of a weekend instead of the second -- i.e. Round 1 instead of Round 2. Why? You get all week to prepare for that unusual zone defense instead of just 24 hours. San Diego State enters on a 14-game winning streak and is an excellent defensive club itself. The Aztecs are 4-1 ATS in their past five NCAA Tournament games.