Written by Mike Y

March madness, one the most renowned sporting events in the country is watched by people of all types. Schools from across the country work there hardest year round to have the honor of being in the dance. Out of approximately 347 division 1 men's basketball teams only 64 plus one play-in-game qualify for tournament and this year upstate New York was able to lockdown 4 of the 65 spots, the only state to have more teams in the Big Dance is Ohio.

History was made when the Binghamton Bearcats beat UMBC's Retrievers allowing them to advance to the tournament for the first time in the schools history. The Bearcats were awarded with the 15^th seed but were scheduled to play the 2^nd seed Duke Blue Devils in the first round, which would prove to be quite a match up for Binghamton.

Their run for the tournament was impressive when you take in to account they have only been a division 1 program for 8 years. The 14^th seed Cornell, another upstate New York team who is not too familiar with being in the tournament only making their 4^th appearance in school history this year. Cornell was given an automatic spot in the tournament when they defeated the Pennsylvanian Quakers to win the Ivy League title and their own spot in the NCAA tournament.

One of the early Cinderella stories of the 2009 tournament is New York's Sienna College. Sienna had quite an exceptional season this year ending it with a 26-7 record birthing them a number 9 seed. The Saints were the underdog in their first two rounds but managed to pull through the first round only to play #1 seed Louisville losing 79-72. The Saints played an excellent game keeping the Cardinals close but as the clock wound down the Sienna Saints would soon realize they would not have the storybook happy ending they were looking for.

The fourth and final team from upstate New York in the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is the dominant Syracuse Orangemen. Arguably one of the premiere college basketball teams in the state of New York. Playing in one of the more difficult regions in the country the Orangemen had an extremely successful season finishing 5^th in the Big East giving them a #3 seed in the tournament. Syracuse has made at least 13 appearances in the tournament since it was expanded to 64 teams having a record of 4-5 in the sweet sixteen and 3-1 in the final four. The difference between Syracuse and the other upstate teams is by student population it is larger than the others with Binghamton at a close 2^nd also they have much more experience when it comes to being in the tournament.

For upstate New York this years NCAA Tournament was extremely exciting and historic putting some smaller, newer teams on the national radar as well as bringing back the well-known teams of the area. From losing first round to one of the countries  greatest teams to almost having this year's tournament greatest upset. Upstate New York has gained much notoriety and respect from others who before wouldn't even be able to tell you what state the university was in. As the tournament continues on Binghamton, Sienna, and Cornell have all been knocked out of the race to the final four by higher seeded teams, but don't think upstate is out as of yet Syracuse is currently still in the running to become 2009's NCAA Champions!