FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --- Less than three hours until game time --- still far enough out for Division III power Salisbury to be out on Gillette Stadium field for a walkthrough.

Some folks think there could be two routs, but it would be no shock if a pair of fine games are delivered.

Make no mistake: If there are a pair of blowouts, it would be stunning to have either Virginia or Johns Hopkins in the final.

Faceoffs will be vital for Virginia, at least if Syracuse's Danny Brennan dominates Garett Ince. The Orange's preferred style --- get the ball, shoot, and then (a) score and go back to the faceoff or (b) go plays some defense --- nullifies the value of the faceoff. Syracuse is content to go up-and-down, and Virginia can do that if need be.

While much is made of how much better Syracuse's defense is compared to last year --- and there's no question it is, given how porous the Orange were in '07. But after a challenging stretch in early March that featured overtime games against Virginia (loss), Georgetown (win) and Hopkins (win), Syracuse has not exactly played the most dominant schedule.

The Orange rolled Binghamton, Hobart, Loyola, Princeton, Cornell, Rutgers, Albany and Massachusetts before losing to Colgate. In the tournament, they predictably drilled Canisius before edging Notre Dame.

The final eight opponents in that 10-game winning streak went a lukewarm 56-54 this year. It's fair to wonder just how good Syracuse's defense would have fared had some of those teams actually had up years offensively.

The reality is it's not as hard to question Syracuse's offense, which is loaded and gets the streaky Bud Petit today. But the Syracuse defense vs. the Virginia offense will decide the day; here's thinking Virginia 13-12 in a game that could easily go either way.