Preview: No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Indiana State

The Orange are in Cleveland for this weekend of the NCAA Tournament, making them the best team in the city (sorry Cavs fans; your team has played 34 more games but has only half as many wins). Syracuse is the three seed in the East region, so it will take on No. 14 Indiana State. (9:57 PM ET, TruTV).

Significance: Win or go home. Self-explanatory. Also, the sooner Indiana State goes home, the sooner we stop seeing highlights of Larry Bird and the 1979 Indiana State team playing in short shorts.

Three Pointers:

1. Indiana State's offense vs. Syracuse's defense: As Kris Joseph so eloquently described, the Sycamores have some shooters. They are below-average from the field, hitting 43% of their shots, but a respectable 36.3% from three. If the zone defense can keep Indiana State from hitting a lot of threes, this should be an easy game for Syracuse.
2. Syracuse has a big advantage: Literally. The Sycamores don't have anyone over 6'8", which points to a huge day for Rick Jackson down low. Hopefully Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita can use that to their advantage as well.
3. Start and finish strong: The Orange want to avoid an early deficit, and put Indiana State away in the second half when they get the chance. If they fail to do so, they could suffer the same fate as Louisville.

Prediction: Indiana State will probably hang around for a while and keep the game interesting. The Orange might not blow them out, but they should win comfortably.

Syracuse 72, Indiana State 58