Syracuse Basketball: Orange don’t appear in Joe Lunardi mock bracket

The 2020-21 campaign for Syracuse basketball is a ways’ off, but Joe Lunardi has already put out a projected field of 68, without the Orange.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has released a super early mock bracket for the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and Syracuse basketball is just a tad on the outside looking in.

Of course, such prognostications from Lunardi and other bracketologists must get taken with a huge grain of salt, because the upcoming season is months away, and additional roster changes for the Orange and a host of other programs are likely.

For what it’s worth, Lunardi has slotted the ‘Cuse in his “first four out” category, along with Penn State, fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member N.C. State and Alabama, which is guided by former Buffalo head coach Nate Oats.

In Lunardi’s “next four out” department, he has a pair of ACC participants in Clemson and Georgia Tech, as well as Marquette and Butler.

The No. 1 seeds, according to Lunardi, are Gonzaga, Kentucky and two from the Big East Conference in Creighton and Villanova, a crew that captured recent national titles in 2016 and 2018.

ACC squads in Lunardi’s field of 68 are No. 2 seeds Duke and Virginia, the 2019 NCAA champion, No. 4 seed Florida State, the league’s regular-stanza winner in 2019-20, No. 5 seed North Carolina, No. 7 seed Louisville and No. 10 seed Miami.

The ACC’s half-dozen Big Dance berths are tied with the Southeastern Conference, but behind the Big Ten Conference with 10, and seven each from the Pac-12 and Big 12 Conferences.

Interestingly enough, Syracuse’s former league, the Big East Conference, only has four groups in the Lunardi’s bracket, but two of them are No. 1 seeds. The other duo is No. 9 seed Xavier and No. 11 seed Providence.

There are some other units to note. Connecticut, which has agreed to rejoin the Big East from the American Athletic Conference, is a No. 9 seed. Yuck.

No. 3 seed Iowa and No. 8 seed Oklahoma State both crushed the Orange during the 2019-20 non-conference slate, as did previously mentioned Penn State.

New York state teams Buffalo and Colgate are a No. 14 seed and a No. 16 seed, respectively. That’s cool. Finally, Richmond is a No. 9 seed, and Vermont is a No. 12 seed. Gross.

All kidding aside, it will prove compelling to see how the ‘Cuse is viewed by analysts, commentators and journalists as the next term approaches.

Syracuse, as we all know, finished 2019-20 at 18-14. The Orange fared poorly in the non-conference calendar, broke even in the ACC, didn’t have a lot of marquee victories, but ended on a high sentiment by smoking North Carolina in the league’s post-season tournament before everything got canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

All eyes are centered on whether redshirt junior forward Elijah Hughes stays in the NBA Draft or returns to the Hill for one more year. A young roster has, thankfully, gained a stanza of experience.

Several guys have left, but the ‘Cuse did land a stud in Illinois transfer Alan Griffin, and it’s possible that Syracuse could add another player to its line-up before all is said and done.

Assuming Hughes goes pro, the Orange probably won’t find itself ranked in the bevy of top-25 ballots prior to 2020-21 commencing. The ‘Cuse also will likely hover on the proverbial March Madness bubble. Whatever. Syracuse often shines when its expectations aren’t so elevated.