Well, like I said earlier, it is 2 down and 2 to go for 'Cuse in terms of wins needed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. And the quest continues this weekend at UMASS. UMASS has very wild fans and will create a very hostile environment for Syracuse. Even though UMASS probably won't make the playoffs this year, the fans and players would like nothing more than to knock rival 'Cuse out of the playoffs.

Personally, I think that UMASS, who has a lot of their runner-up team from last year back, is much better than their record shows. In fact, I think they might be the most disappointing and underachieving team in the country this year. However, just like Syracuse, they have gotten a lot better recently. All together, UMASS has had a pretty good schedule. Here is how their season has gone:

Hofstra-8, UMASS-6 Hofstra is currently #20.
Yale-7, UMASS-6 Yale is just outside the Top 20.
UMASS-11, Harvard-10
Albany-10, UMASS-9 Albany is currently #6.
Brown-7, UMASS-4 Brown is just outside the Top 20.
UMASS-11, Sacred Heart-4
Loyola-10, UMASS-8 Loyola is currently #13.
UMASS-6, Penn State-5
UMASS-11, St. John's-7
UMASS-17, Hobart-12
Georgetown-8, UMASS-7 Georgetown is currently #4.
UMASS-10, Fairfield-7

No, UMASS does not have any quality wins. However, they played all the quality teams they faced very close. I think that, if Syracuse beats UMASS this weekend, they should get some more votes even if they do not move up in the polls. I say that, although UMASS will be fired up, Syracuse will be even more fired up and hungry, because this game matters much more to them. I totally agree with one of the posters above, and I say:

Syracuse-11, UMASS-9

What do you all predict?

Oh, one more thing. If Syracuse ends up winning handily, I think they will get even more votes.