K urt Silcott sat 150 miles from the epicenter of Syracuse men’s basketball awaiting the NCAA Tournament Draw on Sunday evening. That night, Silcott, the director of arena athletics at HSBC Arena, hosted one heck of a selection party. He and his staff threw a catered affair in the 100-level of the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, which serves as the venue for First and Second-Round tournament games.

He waited anxiously, hoping that when CBS flashed the list of names that would play in Buffalo, Syracuse would be one of them. In part because he wanted to see one of his favorite teams in action. The other part anticipating the local excitement an SU draw would bring.

Gerry McNamara hoped, too. Eyes glued on the television in Manley Field House, he wished in the back of his mind that the Orangemen would be dispatched to Buffalo, maybe duplicate last year’s successful regional run through Albany, which is only 145 miles from campus.

Of course, it didn’t happen. The Syracuse men’s basketball team will travel to Denver to take on Brigham Young on Thursday at about 3 p.m. Eastern time. The draw was a small disappointment for both Silcott and McNamara, but that quickly yielded to excitement.

Silcott said HSBC Arena has been sold out for months. The Orangemen begin their title defense. They’re both anxious for the NCAA Tournament to kickoff, whether Syracuse was placed within a short drive of campus or not.

‘Last year, it was just coincidence (that we played in Albany),’ McNamara said. ‘You look at Buffalo and you think, ‘That’s the same thing we went through last year. Maybe we could do that again.’ But we’re just happy.’

The Orangemen won’t have nearly as large a fan base in Denver as they had last year while playing in Boston and Albany. That’s not to say there’s not an interest in the Rocky Mountains for the defending champs. A certain former Syracuse star might have a hand in convincing the locals to come out in full force.

Although Denver Nuggets rookie Carmelo Anthony won’t be able to attend the tournament in Denver (he’ll play on the road all week), he told forward Hakim Warrick he’d rally some support.

‘We told him to send some of his Nuggets fans over there,’ Warrick said.

Of course, those fans will have to compete with the BYU faithful from Provo, Utah, which is still an eight-hour trip to Denver.

The rest of the Phoenix bracket provides a difficult challenge for the Orangemen (21-7, 11-6 Big East). If Syracuse were to get by BYU (21-8), it would face the winner of Maryland and Texas-El Paso. Maryland is one of the hottest teams in the tourney, having won the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, one of the most daunting tasks in college basketball.

A potential date with No. 1 seed Stanford looms if both the Cardinal (29-1) and Syracuse were to qualify for the Sweet 16. Also, Connecticut, which SU beat on March 7, could form an intriguing Elite 8 matchup with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

But every year there are upsets. This year will be no exception. And with all the parity in college basketball this season (six different teams assumed the No. 1 spot in the polls), it lends itself to an exciting NCAA Tournament.

‘I don’t think there’s any possible easy way to get to the Final Four anymore,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘Anybody that’s one of the top-six seeds – or maybe more, maybe somebody lower than that – could get to the Final Four.’

Stanford was awarded the No. 1 seed in the region, Connecticut earned No. 2. North Carolina State, Maryland, Syracuse and Vanderbilt round out the top six seeds. DePaul was given the No. 7 seed in the region, followed by Alabama, Southern Illinois, Dayton, Western Michigan, BYU, UTEP, Vermont and Texas San Antonio.

Two games each will be played in Seattle, Denver, Orlando and Buffalo. All but two opening-round games will take place on Thursday.

HSBC Arena will host DePaul vs. Dayton and Connecticut vs. Vermont on Thursday, and the second-round matchup on Saturday.

Although Silcott won’t have the privilege of watching the Orangemen, he said the arena will be rocking regardless.

‘It would be nice to have Syracuse come out here,’ Silcott said. ‘It would be great for Buffalo and great for Syracuse. But sometimes the road is the best thing for them. They don’t have to worry about performing in front of fans. It can work either way.’

As for McNamara, he won’t fret for too long.

‘This is probably the greatest thing in sports,’ McNamara said. ‘We’re just proud and honored to be a part of such a great thing. We’ll take advantage of anything we can get.’

Published on March 16, 2004 at 12:00 pm