Syracuse: From Back Door to Final Four

Jim Boeheim is incredible.

He's probably the only coach in a power conference whose top priority is recruiting players who can fit his suffocating 2-3 zone system, as opposed to recruiting top players, period.

That's because, in any era -- one-&-done or otherwise -- that zone's the star of his show.

Just ask a Gonzaga squad that had the players to rip it apart, but didn't. If fact, the Bulldogs may still be wondering where their virtually game-long lead went:

Turns out that Boeheim's guerilla zone press is a decent weapon, too.

It adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the Syracuse formula for success when deployed at the right moment.

Boeheim says it only works for a couple of minutes, but in this game, they came in the final three. Shades of Texas A&M!

Gotta wonder how Gonzaga could've watch the Northern Iowa meltdown and not learned from it.

As a matter of fact, Virginia should be asking that question, too.

The Wahoos should be even more sheepish. They'd even seen Syracuse in the regular season.

As a result, look what Boeheim's crew did to their share of the bracket:

The Orange rose above the Selection Committee's wacky seeding to make the most of an opportunity virtually every objective measurement of such things indicated they never shoulda had.

It's almost the ultimate revenge.

If Syracuse wins two more games, it will be.