Syracuse (26-9) will open NCAA Tournament play in the second round against Montana on Thursday at 9:57 p.m. in San Jose, Calif. The 13th-seeded Grizzlies (25-6) put together a 14-game winning streak from Dec. 19 to Feb. 9, and finished the year 19-1 in Big Sky play. This will be the program’s third trip to the tournament in the last four years, with its previous two ending in losses in the first round to New Mexico in 2010 and in the second round to Wisconsin in 2012.

Montana’s leading scorer, 6-foot-7 forward Mathias Ward (14.8 ppg), is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing foot surgery earlier this month. The Daily Orange broke down Thursday’s matchup with Bob Meseroll, who covers the Grizzlies for the Missoulian.

The Daily Orange: Without Ward, how does that change the dynamic for Montana going into the tournament?

Bob Meseroll: I think the biggest loss is of a low-post threat. Mathias is a very good outside shooter, and he’s more of a face-up post player than a back-to-the-basket guy, but he was capable of going down low and getting some points near the rim, and that’s the biggest thing I would say that’s missing right now. They’re still getting it from their guards Will Cherry (13.9 ppg) and Kareem Jamar (14.5 ppg), but it’s in a different way. They have to drive to the basket in the case of Cherry. In the case of Jamar, he will post people up.

The D.O.: How do you think Montana is suited against Syracuse’s zone? Is that something they’ve seen at all this year?

BM: They’ve seen a fair share of zone because of Cherry and Jamar and their ability to get to the rim. A lot of people have used zone to try to clog up the middle and keep them from slashing to the rim. They’ve had mixed success, I would say, against the zone. Sometimes, they get a little tentative and settle for outside shots, and I know that, that is not what Coach (Wayne) Tinkle wants. He wants them to stay aggressive, and if they’re getting outside shots, he wants them to be for kickouts after the guys drive into the lane and kick out to shooters to get them better looks. They are a pretty good shooting team from the perimeter.

The D.O.: Are there any defensive matchups Montana is concerned with against Syracuse?

BM: I haven’t had a chance to talk to coach Tinkle about specific matchups yet. Defensively, though, for the Grizzlies, it starts with Will Cherry. He’s the two-time defensive player of the year in the Big Sky, and he’s second in the Big Sky all-time in career steals. He’s Montana’s leader in career steals. People will be surprised at the kind of balls he can get to.

The D.O.: How do you think Cherry (6-foot-1) will match up with Syracuse’s Michael Carter-Williams (6-foot-6)?

BM: I would definitely expect Will to be matched up on Carter-Williams. He always takes the opposing team’s best offensive player. Last week, because of some switches during a play, Will found himself matched up against a 6-5 kid from Northern Colorado, so of course they cleared it out and tried to isolate the 6-5 kid on Will Cherry, and they got the ball to him and the kid went up for a shot and Cherry blocked it. I don’t think the extra five inches are going to be a major factor.

The D.O.: Do you think Syracuse’s height advantage will be a factor, or is that something Montana can overcome and adjust during the game?

BM: I think what will be a big factor, and could be the decisive factor, will be rebounding. At least I’ve heard that Syracuse gets a lot of offensive rebounds, and the Grizzlies are not a great rebounding team, so I think how they’re able to hang with Syracuse on the boards will go a long way to determining the outcome.

The D.O.: What is the key for Montana to pull off the upset against Syracuse?

BM: I think getting off to a good start would be really important, just to maintain the confidence that they’ve played with all year. Obviously, they can’t get too far behind because against a team like Syracuse, it’s not going to be very easy to come from way back.

Published on March 21, 2013 at 1:21 am

Contact Ryne: [email protected]