Syracuse Basketball: The Orange included in two more preseason polls

College basketball is right around the corner, and prognosticators continue to anoint Syracuse as one of the top teams in the land.

Excitement is palpable for the Syracuse basketball team as the upcoming collegiate hoops season inches closer, given that our beloved Orange returns all five starters from a year ago and will also possess some much-needed depth in the 2018-19 season.

A handful of the sports experts, who work for the likes of CBS, ESPN, and various other media outlets have previously slotted Syracuse in their pre-season rankings.

Now we can add another duo to that seemingly growing list. Earlier this week, both the Sporting News and the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook revealed their preseason top 25 polls.

Over at the Sporting News, the Orange check in at No. 17. The Sporting News included an explanation for why they decided to include Syracuse in their preseason poll this year.

Syracuse Orange

"“It probably would be nice if the Orange weren’t projected here strictly on the basis of them being matched against some flummoxed NCAA Tournament opponents who’ve never seen a zone quite like Jim Boeheim’s. The Orange should be top-15 good, not just Sweet 16-good. They have averaged 14 regular-season losses over the past four years, while winning 77 percent of their tournament games in that stretch. With Oshae Brissett and Tyus Battle both capable of ranking among the ACC’s best players, this would be a season when Cuse ought to excel from beginning to end.”"

That assertion at the write-up’s conclusion is certainly one for which I’m on board.

The Sporting News’ rankings have a half-dozen other ACC schools this year including Duke at No. 4, Virginia at No. 5, North Carolina at No. 6, Virginia Tech at No. 16, Florida State at No. 19, and Clemson at No. 22.

Meanwhile, the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook installs Syracuse at No. 22 in its preseason top 25 guide.

Similar to the Sporting News, the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook had six other ACC schools in its poll that included the Blue Devils at No. 4, the Cavaliers at No. 7, the Tar Heels at No. 12, the Seminoles at No. 15, the Tigers at No. 17, and the Hokies at No. 24.

I’ve ranted and raved on many occasions that these preseason rankings don’t mean a thing, and I still believe that. On the flip side, they’re fun fodder for fanatic fan bases such as those who root for the Orange..

The bottom line is that Syracuse will have fairly high expectations in 2018-19, which is a double-edged sword. Although, for the first instance in a while, the Orange likely won’t have to sweat it out on Selection Sunday this season.

However, with lofty expectations can come bitter disappointment if this term goes south. Case in point is Syracuse’s 2016-17 campaign. Ugh, why did I bring that disaster up?

We’ll remain focused on the present instead though, since the Orange’s outlook for the upcoming season appears bright.