Syracuse Basketball still needs to bolster resume for tourney bid

The Syracuse basketball squad got a vital victory over the weekend against Clemson, but the Orange remains on the outside of the bubble.

In its final regular-season affair of the 2017-18 campaign, the SU hoops program willed its way to a must-have win over nationally ranked Clemson at the Carrier Dome this past Saturday.

That result gave the ‘Cuse (19-12, 8-10) its first conquest of a top-25 foe during this term, and I can’t stress the importance of such an outcome for the Orange’s NCAA Tournament possibilities.

Regardless, if we are honestly assessing SU’s current resume, I feel pretty confident in saying that Syracuse has to notch a minimum of two successes in this week’s ACC Tournament to have any chance whatsoever of securing an at-large berth to the Big Dance.

Our boys’ first opportunity arrives on Tuesday evening from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., when the ‘Cuse faces off with Wake Forest (11-19, 4-14) in the ACC tourney’s opening round.

The Orange, the No. 11 seed, and the Demon Deacons, the No. 14 seed, each emerged triumphant at home during the regular stanza. A conquering of WF in the ACC Tournament, while on a neutral floor, won’t move the needle much for SU, because the Demon Deacons’ RPI is fairly average.

However, should Syracuse best Wake Forest, a clash with highly rated North Carolina, and its top-

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10 RPI, would await. The Tar Heels slipped down to the No. 6 seed in the ACC tourney after falling to archrival Duke over the weekend.

When UNC traveled to Central New York on Feb. 21, the ‘Cuse gave the Tar Heels all they could handle, before losing by a mere four points. If, somehow and someway, the Orange outlasted North Carolina, that pushes Syracuse to 21 victories.

An invite to the NCAA Tournament, by no means, would prove a guarantee at that juncture, depending on how other bubble bunches perform in their conference tourneys, but SU would have a shot, nonetheless.

Just for fun’s sake, should the ‘Cuse then spring an upset of the No. 3 seed, Miami, in the quarterfinals, then I think that SU is “safely” in the field of 68.

That’s a huge what-if, in my humble opinion.

Presently, Syracuse has a RPI of 40. Fairly solid, but not spectacular. The Orange wrapped up the regular season with a 14-5 mark at its venue, and a 5-7 record away from the Carrier Dome. Again, this is okay, although not stellar.

The ‘Cuse is 3-7 against Quadrant 1 opponents, 3-3 versus Quadrant 2, 8-2 against Quadrant 3 and 5-0 versus Quadrant 4. The poor Quadrant 1 showing is what really hurts SU. We don’t possess many bad setbacks, but we also don’t have a ton of terrific triumphs – save for the aforementioned Tigers at home, as well as on the road against Louisville and Miami.

This makes picking up two or more wins in Brooklyn all the more paramount, since it’s a neutral site.

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The pressure is undoubtedly large, and Syracuse has to block out the noise and take care of business, beginning with the Demon Deacons. It’s certainly an uphill climb for the Orange, but, as I’ve seen time and time again, once March is here, anything can happen.