PITTSBURGH, PA -- It took a while for many Orange fans in Pittsburgh to relax even after Syracuse beat UNC-Asheville, 72-65.

 

Syracuse fans were vastly outnumbered in the Consol Energy Center by a crowd that wanted to see basketball history.

 

No sixteen seed has ever beaten a one seed in the NCAA Tournament but Asheville almost pulled it off. As the Bulldogs kept the score close late in the game, the crowd booed every call that went for Syracuse and cheered after every Asheville score.

 

"People are from all over the country - you realize they want to see an upset and they want the big dog to go home" said Syracuse fan John Reale Jr.

 

Other SU fans realized that while everyone loves a David vs. Goliath storyline - you can't expect people to root for Goliath.

 

"It was terrible. We had Pitt fans behind us heckling us all game" said SU fan Chris Marshall. "You don't want to be labeled the one team that lost to a sixteen team. It will brand you for the rest of your life as a fan. So I was glad they pulled it out."

 

Several fans said they were emotionally drained after the game and hoped SU would be on track for a better game on Saturday.

 

"Probably more stressful than I've ever been at a game. As it went on and the crowd got more anti-Orange it was like, wow this is crazy," said Reale Sr.