Even Jim Boeheim Is Shocked He’s #1 in This March Madness Category

It's no coincidence the Syracuse Orange kicked it up a notch in the 2018 college basketball post-season. NCAA Tournament wins over Arizona State, TCU, and Michigan State were surprising to some and launched SU into the Sweet 16.

According to some stats compiled by the folks at FiveThirtyEight.com, this latest March run by the Orange is explained by one simple truth: Coach Jim Boeheim is the best modern coach at winning games in the big dance.

FiveThirtyEight used a special formula to measure pregame probabilities for all games since 1985 and found "the coaches with the biggest differentials between their actual and expected tournament wins are the ones who have the strongest March Madness resumes — and sure enough, Boeheim shows up at No. 1."

Here's the article with the whole chart, so you can check out how Boeheim ranks against his coaching contemporaries.

One other guy with Central New York connections who made the list: Former Lemoyne Dolphins' coach John Beilein (9th best), doing great work again with the Michigan Wolverines.