Syracuse Basketball: Joe Lunardi explains path to NCAA Tournament

Is there a path to the NCAA Tournament for the Syracuse basketball squad? ESPN’s Joe Lunardi explained what it would take to put the Orange in.

We’ve spoken ad nauseam recently that Syracuse basketball currently appears in zero brackets across college hoops (per the Bracket Matrix).

But just because they aren’t in the field right now, that doesn’t mean they can’t fight their way back in.

On the latest Syracuse.com Sports Podcast, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi joined Brent Axe to discuss the path for the Orange:

"“The path for Syracuse certainly became much narrower when they lost to NC State earlier this week. Both the Orange and the Wolfpack were next in line for an at-large bid of teams who weren’t projected in the field.To lose that game is sort of a double whammy because firstly Syracuse didn’t pass a team right in front of them and the Orange lost a home game or bubble game that they can’t make up and that puts them in a tough position.I don’t want to say that Syracuse’s only path is winning the ACC Tournament because a four or five-game winning streak would probably do it for any bubble team down the stretch. Although the problem of course and this point has been beaten to death is the opportunities aren’t as plentiful as they’ve been in the past in the ACC. At the risk of being wrong again on Syracuse, I’ll say it’s not looking good at this juncture.”"

Syracuse basketball remaining regular-season schedule featuring ESPN BPI Analytics:

"At Florida State: 16.4 percent chance of victory.At Louisville: 12.7 percent chance of victory.Vs Georgia Tech: 77.9 percent chance of victory.At Pittsburgh: 49.1 percent chance of victory.Vs North Carolina: 75.1 percent chance of victory.At Boston College: 71.2 percent chance of victory.At Miami: 49.6 percent chance of victory."

Realistically there are only two marquee games remaining on the Orange schedule of significance. At Florida State on Saturday at noon then next week also on the road vs Louisville.

Syracuse desperately needs at least one of those (if not both) considering their resume. Per the latest NCAA Net Rankings, Syracuse sits at 68, the team doesn’t own a top-50 win to date, and vs the upper echelon squads on their schedule, they’ve struggled (4-9 vs quadrant one/two teams this season). In addition to that, the Orange blew their opportunities during non-conference play early in the year.

Also during the Joe Lunardi conversation, he explained if somehow Syracuse is able to beat both FSU and Louisville (a tall task for sure) they would put themselves squarely in the conversation:

"“Syracuse would be right on the edge of the field if not directly in it. To possibly get two upper-end quadrant one victories both on the road would really improve the resume.But let’s call it what it is for a moment. If Syracuse played the Seminoles or the Cardinals 7 times on a neutral court the smart money would say the Orange would maybe win two of those games. That means roughly 20 percent of the time Syracuse would find a way to win.Although it’s important to note Louisville has stumbled vs Georgia Tech this week. Florida State has slipped up this season.It’s not impossible but considering these games are back-to-back, for those reasons I feel kind of deep down that it isn’t going to happen for the Orange.”"

Historically speaking Joe Lunardi has been more wrong about Syracuse than any other bracketologist on the planet. When he thinks they’re in, they’re out. Contrastly when he thinks they’re out, they’re in. So take interpret this analysis however you’d like.