Bet forces Syracuse school to praise Michigan Wolverines after Final Four game

Praise of Michigan's basketball team isn't exactly dripping from the lips of Syracuse fans, but it's exactly what you'll find if you visit one of their webpages.

The deans of the Syracuse and Michigan information schools struck a bet prior to Saturday's final four game in Atlanta. The deal? The losing school has to praise the winning school on their homepage for a 24-hour period.

Michigan bested Syracuse 61 to 56 Saturday night and is headed to the NCAA Championship final Monday at 9:23 p.m. in Atlanta.

Now Syracuse's information school homepage links to U-M's website and reads: "MICHIGAN has a GREAT iSchool (and may we point out, a GREAT basketball team)."

"Congratulations on the win," Syracuse's information school tweeted to U-M. "It was a great match-up. We'll make good on our bet on Monday!"

For some, the shout-out is like pouring salt on a wound.

"That homepage was way too soon for us heartbroken Cuse fans," tweeted one Syracuse fan.

For others, the joke is a sweet reward for a sweet victory.

"Such a nailbiter game!" the U-M School of Information tweeted at Syracuse. "We'll almost feel guilty about Maize-ing up your home page.... Almost."

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.