Big East Tournament 2012: Syracuse Will Build March Madness Momentum with Win

Syracuse basketball is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the 2012 NCAA basketball tournament, and it's all going to stem from a Big East Tournament win.

Some say the conference tournaments don't matter, but anybody who knows anything about college basketball will tell you that momentum is everything.

Why do you think we have Cinderella stories every year?

It's not because the smaller schools have more talent and we just never knew. It's because a team gets hot at the right time, and in a one-and-done tournament like March Madness, that can become very dangerous.

Syracuse in no Cinderella. In fact, they should be one of the favorites to win it all.

After their showing in the Big East tournament, they will be.

This is a team that has won 11 straight games and they are primed to make it 12 in the final round.

They're a well-rounded team, an extremely well coached team, and they essentially have the home-court advantage being that they are playing at Madison Square Garden.

Not only that, but they're getting contributions from the bench and that's what really sets the good teams apart from the great ones.

Forward James Sutherland came off the bench to score 10 points in Syracuse's 58-55 win over the Connecticut Huskies, while guard Dion Waiters contributed 18 off the pine.

The Orange are on a roll and looking good, and nobody is going to be able to stop them right now.

They're going to win the Big East Tournament and come away with a No.1 seed in the dance. After that, it's just a simple matter of getting the job done and winning the games that they are favored in.

This is a hot team that will only continue to build momentum. Syracuse is going to be very dangerous in the 2012 NCAA tournament.