The Syracuse Orange enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed in the East Region with a record of 31-2. They’ll be taking on No. 16 seed UNC Asheville, who will try an become the first No. 16-seeded team to ever knock off a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Orange were bounced early from the Big East Tournament by Cincinnati and were force to finish watching the tournament from home. To make matters even worse, earlier this week Syracuse shared the devastating news that starting center, Fab Melo, as he was ruled ineligible. It’ll be hard for Syracuse to make up what Melo brought to the team, with his 25.4 minutes, 5.8 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, and 7.8 points per game.

Game Loaction: CONSOL Energy Center: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game time: Thursday, Mach 15, 3:10 PM ET

Channel: truTV

Potential Kansas State starting five:

Team Comparison:

Points
Syracuse – 74.6
UNC Asheville – 81.2

Points Allowed
Syracuse – 60.4
UNC Asheville – 71.3

Rebounds
Syracuse – 38.2
UNC Asheville – 37.3

Assists
Syracuse – 15.8
UNC Asheville – 16.6

Blocks
Syracuse – 7.1
UNC Asheville – 2.7

Steals
Syracuse – 9.6
UNC Asheville – 8.5

Turnovers
Syracuse – 10.5
UNC Asheville – 13.5

FG%
Syracuse – 46.5
UNC Asheville – 48.4

3FG%
Syracuse – 34.5
UNC Asheville – 35.3

FT%
Syracuse – 69.1
UNC Asheville – 76.2