Though the Syracuse University men’s basketball team has stumbled into the 2014 NCAA tournament, many student season ticket holders are jumping at the opportunity to see the Orange in March Madness.

The university will sell approximately 70 student tickets to the Orange’s second round matchup against Western Michigan University in Buffalo, N.Y. on Thursday, said Jeremiah Maher, associate athletics director of ticket sales and operations, in an email. An email outlining the sale was sent to student season ticket holders after the Orange’s game location was finalized Sunday night, Maher said.

Ticket sales will start on Tuesday at 7 a.m. at the Carrier Dome Box Office and continue until 2 p.m. while the tickets last. The box office will only accept major credit cards for the sales, according to the email.

When students buy tickets for the second round, or round of 64, they will automatically be charged for third round tickets, or round of 32, should SU advance, according to the email.

The ticket allotment is proportional to the percentage of students that hold season tickets, and the number of available tickets will increase should SU advance deeper in the tournament, according to the email.

A similar NCAA tournament ticketing process has been in place for the seven years Maher has worked at SU, he said.

Nicole Goroshovsky, a freshman public health major, said she appreciates that the university is offering tickets to students. The offer shows the level of support for the basketball team within the student body, she said.

“I think it’s awesome that they are going to be giving special deals to Syracuse students if they want to make the trip to Buffalo,” Goroshovsky said. “It shows that we have an awesome basketball community.”

Playing in Buffalo, which is about 150 miles away from Syracuse, may help bring fans to the second round game, Goroshovsky said. She said she is considering purchasing tickets and traveling to Buffalo because she enjoys the atmosphere at SU basketball games.

T.J. Wells, a freshman advertising major, said he would also try to travel to Buffalo to see the game. He said he believes the proximity to Syracuse may give the Orange an advantage.

And since the tournament game is so close to Syracuse, he said the opportunity might be too good for season ticket holders to pass up.

“I will definitely try and go to Buffalo to support Syracuse. It’s close by and since it’s March Madness, why wouldn’t you want to go?” Wells said.  “It doesn’t get much better than that.”

Published on March 17, 2014 at 1:08 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306