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Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim responded to criticism that his team is 'mediocre' and that it doesn't belong in the NCAA Tournament during a radio appearance on Monday.

(Stephen D. Cannerelli | Syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y — Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim responded to criticism about his team's inclusion in the NCAA Tournament during his weekly appearance on ESPN Radio Syracuse on Monday, refuting the idea that his team is "mediocre" and appearing to question the credibility of CBS analyst Doug Gottlieb, who frequently doles out harsh criticism of Syracuse.

Boeheim was appearing on the program "On The Block," which is hosted by Brent Axe. Axe also works for Syracuse.com.

The comments regarding Syracuse's mediocrity were likely aimed at a piece on Syracuse.com that summarized the state of the team, which snuck into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed and has lost five of its last six games, putting it squarely on the bubble in the minds of many critics.

Boeheim pointed out that the schedule toward the end of the season was stiffened remarkably, and the Orange played close games at North Carolina, at Florida State and against Pittsburgh in the ACC Tournament. He said playing the Tar Heels to the finish and competing in rebounding with the Panthers were both positive signs.

"People are writing here in the paper and stuff that we are mediocre," Boeheim said. "That's just not true. That's just a hit at Syracuse. That's a hit at who we are. We're in the toughest league in the country and we've got nine wins coming back from an 0-4 start. That's not mediocrity. It's a balanced league and it's tough. The tournament is tough to get into. There's some elite teams in there, quite a few of them, but there's a lot of teams that are just solid teams. We're one of them and we deserve to be in the tournament based on the criteria."

The Orange had a reasonable postseason resume based on the NCAA's criteria, thanks largely to wins over elite programs on neutral courts and on the road. Syracuse, it turned out, was given a No. 10 seed, meaning it had a fairly substantial buffer from missing out on the NCAA Tournament.

Still, some national media members reacted with shock when Syracuse was included, offering less emotional opinions about teams like Vanderbilt, Wichita State and Tulsa who were deemed closer to the bubble. Boeheim said those responses were likely to attract attention more than exhibit honesty. One of those who was especially hard on the Orange was Gottlieb.

"Here's the key factor," Gottlieb said on the CBS Selection Show. "They lost to St.John's. No team should be in this NCAA Tournament that lost to St.John's this year."

While Boeheim didn't name Gottlieb, his comments fell right into the head coach's wheelhouse.

"I think some national people take shots at Syracuse rather than Oregon State because Syracuse is a basketball name," Boeheim said. "It spurs interest in what they do. If they have a radio talk show people call in. It's disingenuous to say Syracuse doesn't belong in the tournament because they lost to St. John's. You lose your credibility, if you have any, when you say things like that because it's obvious we beat Texas A&M and Connecticut on a neutral court and Duke at Duke."

While Boeheim defended Syracuse's selection by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee he also gave a nod to the programs that weren't selected and whose fans reacted to Syracuse's inclusion with anger, naming all of them as dangerous teams.

"The teams that got left out are good basketball teams," Boeheim said. "Usually if you get left our you're probably not going to win. There's teams that got left out that can win NCAA Tournament games. That's the depth of college basketball. I don't believe it's mediocrity, I just believe it's balance. I think some people haven't even watched games and they're saying things like this. You watch St. Mary's, St. Bonaventure, Valparaiso, I'd hate to play those teams. Those are good basketball teams. Monmouth is a good basketball team. San Diego State is a good basketball team."