Can they chop down the Orange tree?

Stephen F. Austin celebrates after an NCAA college basketball game in the Southland Conference men's championship where Stephen F. Austin defeated Texas San Antonio 68-57 Sunday, March 15, 2009 in Katy, Texas.

That is the adage many pundits of basketball have been preaching for years.

All I'm hoping for is that it holds up for one game Friday.

For the first time ever, the Stephen F. Austin State University Lumberjacks are part of the NCAA Tournament.

They had been flirting with a berth the past few years. Last year, they won 26 games but fluttered out in the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals.

This year, they finished with a 24-7 record, including a 112-111 triple-overtime victory over fellow Cinderella hopeful North Dakota State, and a tough seven-point loss to current 9th-seeded Texas A&M.

The 14th-seed Lumberjacks will take on the very talented Syracuse Orangemen Friday afternoon at 12:15 p.m.

At first glance, it appears my alma mater doesn't have too good of a chance.

However, the stats show what could end up being the upset of the tournament.

SFA comes into the tournament with the second best scoring defense, allowing only 56 points per game, and third in field-goal percentage defense (37.4 percent).

Both teams are poor at the free-throw line, but SFA has the advantage in turnover margin per game at 2.8 to -0.6 for the 'Cuse.

If SFA can maintain its defensive prowess and play off of Syracuse's tendency to turn the ball over, a big bracketbuster could be in store.

However, it wouldn't be the first time a team from the Southland Conference pulled a major upset.

Oddly enough, in 1996, the Northwestern State Demons also pulled the rare upset from the 14th seed in the South Regional against former Hoosier Steve Alford's three-seed Iowa Hawkeyes.

My favorite part of the tournament is the first weekend because anything can happen before it usually goes back to business from the Sweet Sixteen on.

Hopefully, the 'Jacks can take something from their rival's mojo and become the story of the tournament.

Then again, who knows.

If SFA does pull the upset, they would play the winner of the Arizona State/Temple game for a chance to extend its season to next weekend.

But that's where the excitement of March Madness comes into play because everyone has the chance at "One Shining Moment."