Albany and Syracuse Are Set To Dance

The brackets are out and the pairings for the first round are set for the upcoming NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.  The America East Champion Albany Great Danes play Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio in opening round action against the Mountaineers from Mt. St. Mary's. Both go into the tournament as 16 seeds.  The Syracuse Orange face Western Michigan Thursday in Buffalo.  The Orange are a three-seed in the South Regional while the Broncos go in as a 14 seed.

Albany defeated the Stony Brook Seawolves to capture the America East spot in the tournament. The Great Danes carry a record of 18-14 into action after a 9-7 conference slate. The Mountaineers are 16-16 and were 9-7 in the North East Conference.  They defeated Robert Morris to earn their automatic bid. Game-time is 6:40 PM

The Binghamton Bearcats faced both teams.  Albany defeated the Bearcats in both America East games and Binghamton defeated Mount St Mary's in December 74-70 in Emmitsburg, Md.

Syracuse carries a 27-5 record into Thursday's contest with Western Michigan.  Western Michigan won the Mid-American Conference title and is 23-9 heading into the tournament.  Tip-off time has not yet been announced.