The Syracuse Orange will prepare to face the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four Saturday, and for the men's basketball team, it wasn't an easy road to Houston.

Matt Schneidman from the Daily Orange, the student-run newspaper at Syracuse University joined the Average Sports Show Tuesday to talk about how they will be facing their ACC compatriots in the Final Four as a #10 seed, something that a lot of fans in central New York did not think was even possible with the suspension of their head coach and the slow start to the season.

Coach Jim Boeheim missed the first 9 games of the season due to suspension, but his presence around the team when he came back and his ability to get the most out of his players put the Orange in a position to inch one step closer to their ultimate goal, which is of course, the national championship.

The NCAA Tournament has had some major storylines, upsets, and big-time players, but after all the madness, the Final Four is set for this weekend ahead of the National Championship Game.

Shelby Mast from BracketWAG.com and USA Today bracketologist joined Brad Russell in the Average Sports Show to talk about Oklahoma, Syracuse, Villanova, and North Carolina being one step closer to their ultimate goal.

When talking about the Sooners of Oklahoma, one of the stars of the tournament is Buddy Hield, the sharpshooting guard that's got Lon Kruger's squad thinking national championship.

"He's got the body, the smarts, and the game to be a solid NBA player," Mast said. "I don't think he'll be a superstar, but many people said the same thing about Steph Curry when he came out of Davidson and made a splash in the tournament," Mast said.

On Saturday, the Sooners will take on Villanova, while North Carolina and Syracuse will meet up in the other half of the bracket.

With the 2016 NFL Draft being just 29 short days away, the ongoing debate remains: Who will the Browns select with the #2 overall pick? 

DJ Boyer from Draftsite.com joined Brad Russell in the Average Sports Show to talk about the possibilities, who the Browns will go with at either #2 or #32 in the first round, and who will the Tennessee Titans take with the first overall selection.

Boyer says North Dakota State's Carson Wentz and California's Jared Goff are the two top targets at the quarterback position. He says that even though the Browns signed former Washington signal-caller Robert Griffin III last week, having that franchise quarterback is a part of their long-term plans, something that is not certain for Griffin's future.

Boyer also broke down the draft needs for the AFC North, saying the Bengals need to look at reciever, and one that comes to mind is former Notre Dame wideout Will Fuller.

"At the wide receiver position, there's not another player that improved his stock more in the combine than Will Fuller," Boyer said. "He has all the tools, he just needs the consistency and can live up to that #24 overall billing." 

He has the Pittsburgh Steelers going with Mackensie Alexander out of Clemson going to them at #25 to shore up that secondary.

The Browns have another quarterback on the roster, and Robert Griffin III is his name. After much talk and rumor the last few days, the former Baylor star is in the fold.

Andrea Hangst from the Orange and Brown Report and Scout.com spoke with Brad Russell about the move to bring in the veteran QB.

When asked about how RGIII and Hue Jackson are going to coexist, Andrea was optimistic about the process, saying the two men will work well together because they believe in each other.

"One of the few things he's needed is a coach that truly believes in him, he didn't really get that with Shanahan in Washington, and he never felt that with Jay Gruden, so it's going to be a better environment when he's playing for a guy who wanted him and wanting to resurrect his career," Hangst explained.

Former Heisman winner and #2 overall pick in the 2012 draft Robert Griffin III will be a member of the Cleveland Browns after four up-and-down years in the nation's capital with the Redskins.

Scott Petrak from the Elyria Chronicle Telegram joined Sam Bourquin Thursday to talk about the move and what it means for the Browns moving forward and the need to still draft a QB in the April draft.

Looking at the Browns' needs, especially at the quarterback position, Petrak says while he doesn't hate the move, he thinks it's good in the short-term for the team's success moving forward.

''It shouldn't keep them from drafting a quarterback at #2, that should be priority #1," he said.

 Griffin signed a 2-year deal Thursday afternoon. In his conference call with the media earlier that afternoon, he said he'd be happy to take a young signal caller under his wing, if that was his role with the Browns.

After much speculation and chatter, Robert Griffin III is now a Cleveland Brown.

The former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback out of Baylor is now in the 216 after four years in Washington, and is looking for a career revival in Cleveland.

Steve Doerschuk from the Canton Repository spoke with Sam Bourquin on Thursday just shortly after the news broke out.

Steve says he's confident that new Browns coach Hue Jackson can get Griffin to be a solid quarterback.

"If RGIII is to be restored, Hue Jackson is the guy who can do it," Doerschuk said.

Griffin made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year of 2012 and led Washington to a playoff appearance that year before various injuries took their toll.

It remains to be seen if the Browns will spend their #2 overall pick on a quarterback, but with many holes to fill, it's unclear what direction the Browns will go.

As the Browns continue their full-scale rebuild, there's a lot of stuff to talk about including whether or not the Browns should sign Robert Griffin III or Colin Kaepernick, let Joe Thomas go play for a winner, and just who is going to line up at offensive line in Week 1.

Steve King from BrownsDailyDose joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about all those topics and more, saying that coach Hue Jackson is going to have a lot of work ahead of him here moving forward.

 One of the key news from the offseason thus far is the ankle surgery for Pro Bowl CB Joe Haden. He is expected to miss some significant time with the recovery.

"This team can't afford to lose any of their key players and expect to be competitive, much less win," King said. 

 Sam and Steve said maintaining cohesion on the offensive line is a major concern, and regardless of who will be the quarterback for the Browns this upcoming season, they're going to have to protect the signal-caller and keep him upright.

 "That line right now is pretty shaky, and if they let Joe Thomas go, it will be even worse." 

The Cleveland Cavaliers had two completely different games in Florida this past weekend, winning over Orlando and losing to Miami. The Cavs still have some unanswered questions as they head down the home stretch of the regular season.

Rick Noland from the Medina Gazette joined the Sam Bourquin Show Monday to talk about the inconsistency the Cavaliers have displayed up to this point, and what they need to do to develop that consistency.

He says LeBron James is correct on the Cavs' approach game in and game out is important to their success.

"LeBron is correct in that individual wins and losses aren't drastically important to the postseason, but I think the approach that you develop from the beginning of the season to the end of the season is very, very important, and I don't think the Cavs have developed that approach," Noland said.

The Cavs play Denver tonight, with a tip time of  7p.m. on 1590 WAKR. 

Noland said that they don't have a reason to be bored with their regular season because they haven't hit their peak yet.

"I don't think there's a switch you can flip to be mentally tough," he says.

The madness starts today, and there's plenty of teams that will be looking to make their mark and cut down the nets in April for the NCAA men's basketball championship.

Ken Thomson from Pregame.com and Sports X Radio in Las Vegas talked with Sammy B about the teams that stand out with the number before it starts moving around too much.

"Providence is one of those teams, right now it's a two-man team with Dunn and Benil, but right now you don't have to give the ball to a lot of guys, I like the confidence of Providence, I like their toughness, and I expect them to take care of business in Raleigh," he said.

 As far as the Final Four, Ken's going chalk somewhat with Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, and Michigan State, and has Kentucky winning it all.

"There's not that pressure on coach Cal's team this year, like there was in years past," he said.

As we get to know some of the more notable names getting closer to the NFL Draft, one of the more notable offensive skill players fans and scouts have an eye on is former OSU quarterback-turned receiver Braxton Miller.

His former high school coach Jay Minton from Huber Heights Wayne talked with Brad on the Average Sports Show to talk about Braxton as an athlete and as a person, saying he was just as good of a young man as he is as a football player.

"He's one of the most coachable young men we've ever been around," Minton said. "Very respectful, always wanted to be challenged, and he always wanted to get better."

Miller was the two-time Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year at OSU, and made the switch to wideout as a senior.

Minton said it's going to continue to be a smooth process to make a full transition to wide receiver because of his athletic ability and maturity.

"He can make some dynamic plays, and he's a young man that wants the ball in his hands, and he wants to make an impact regardless of what position he plays," he said.