Syracuse Basketball: Orange are apathetic towards latest Vegas odds

130 days before tip-off, Vegas gave Syracuse Basketball 12-1 odds of reaching the Final Four in Minneapolis. SU couldn’t be more apathetic about the news.

College basketball’s most trusted analysts and critics around the country haven’t shied away from dismissing  Syracuse basketball’s chances of reaching the Final Four in recent years.

The Orange transitioned from the Big East to the ACC in 2013 and most expected them to come nowhere near the 30-win season that preceded the switch.

However, their inaugural season in college basketball’s toughest conference was one to remember. The Orange finished the season with 28 wins, 14 of which came in conference play. As a team, Syracuse suffered just six losses, all of which came in their final nine games of the season. Despite losing in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, SU still managed to receive an at-large bid, and what seemed to be an easy trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

After taking care of Western Michigan in round two, they were upset by Dayton, and their 25-0 start to the season was quickly forgotten about.

Wow…

Since then, the Orange have reached just 10 wins in ACC play one time (2016-2017), and have eclipsed the 20+ win mark twice. Since the Orange decided to join the ACC, many have started to believe that their style of play is no longer effective. After averaging around 8-10 wins in conference play over the past four years, many believe they shouldn’t be in the NCAA Tournament’s field of 64.

Following a Final Four and Sweet Sixteen appearance in two of the last three seasons, the Orange have proved their worth and rewrote the narrative, even after their chances of making March Madness were dismissed months before both seasons began.

Last season, Syracuse had one of the shortest benches in the NCAA. After acquiring a surplus of recruits/transfers for this coming season, the ever-so promising Buddy Boeheim will practically be forced to redshirt. CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish has the Orange at No. 22 in the country ahead of the 2018-19 season. Athlon Sports has the Orange at No. 10. Even ESPN’s Myron Medcalf had the Orange at No. 15.

While it is good to see Jim Boeheim and his unit finally receive some national attention, it is safe to say that it will have no effect on their approach to the 2018-19 season. The Orange thrive when the least is expected out of them.

After making the Big Dance by the skin of their teeth, the Orange took out a highly-touted Michigan State team that boasted Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges, two lottery picks in last week’s NBA Draft. Five days later, they almost took down Duke, the No. 2 team in the Midwest Region. Duke had three players get selected in the first round of the NBA Draft (Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr, Grayson Allen), two of which were top-10 picks.

Boom…

Syracuse doesn’t pride itself on their ability to bring in some of the nations top recruits every summer. Quite frankly, Syracuse may never be as attractive a destination as Kentucky, Kansas, or Duke, but that doesn’t matter.

But look at the talent they’ve been able to find from Tyus Battle (Edison, New Jersey) and Jalen Carey (Montclair, New Jersey), to Oshae Brissett (Mississauga, Ontario) and Marek Dolezaj (Bratislava, Slovakia), this team has always taken down college’s most feared teams with seemingly less capable talent.

After finally receiving long overdue national attention, Syracuse’s players and coaches will take an apathetic approach to the 2018-19 season instead of letting the attention get to their heads.

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Despite adding tons of scoring, defense, and length, this team will continue to grind out games and prevent most teams from exploiting their 2-3 zone. No matter how high or low this team gets during the 2018-19 season, their gritty mentality will always stay the same.