Syracuse Basketball: Just outside of new Joe Lunardi Bracketology

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Syracuse basketball on the outside looking in on his latest 2020-21 preseason Bracketology.

ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has forecast his predictions in a new ‘Way Too Early’ edition of preseason rankings. While Syracuse basketball didn’t make the cut, they seem to be on the rise.

On April 21, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi — or maybe more commonly known as “the guy who can never seem to get it right with Syracuse” —  released his third Way-Too-Early bracket predictions edition for next season.

To be fair, we can’t fault him for not always accurately predicting if Syracuse basketball will be left out or not. Just take 2016 for example, when he claimed “I have them out and they’re going to stay out” just days before Selection Sunday.

Syracuse then went on to reach the Final Four that year.

In other words, for how good Lunardi is at his job – and trust me, I’ve made my own bracket predictions over the past two year’s – even he sometimes doesn’t know exactly what the committee is looking for and who they will ultimately select to represent the field of 68.

You can take last season with a grain of salt. The Orange not once made his projected field of 68, and rarely even came close as they struggled to win important games or even string together more than a couple of victories before they were upended by multiple losses. To put it bluntly, Syracuse didn’t deserve to be considered for the 2020 NCAA Tournament at all last season, and rightly so, Joe Lunardi got that completely correct.

Hope for Syracuse Basketball fans

While the news of Elijah Hughes deciding to remain in the 2020 NBA Draft may not sound great, the Orange still bring back five starters from last season. Quincy Guerrier is a rebounding machine and showed flashes of an ability to score eight to ten points per game pretty consistently. Kadary Richmond, an incoming freshman, has great size and skill, and could be able to play some key minutes at the top of the 2-3 zone.

The Orange also await the decision from the NCAA on if Alan Griffin, a transfer from Illinois who chose Syracuse earlier this month, will be allowed to suit up this season. If he is eligible, it would give the Orange six legitimate players who could all start on most teams in the country. Furthermore, guys such as John Bol Ajak and Jesse Edwards are working on their games and may be able to provide depth and perhaps even potential next season.

Lunardi must have seen this, as he currently has Syracuse listed as ‘First Four Out’ in his April 21, 2020 bracketology. While he doesn’t go in detail about why certain teams are selected and why some aren’t, it’s key to note that he does see Syracuse on the rise. By placing them in the ‘First Four Out’, it shows that Lunardi, who knows the NCAA Tournament just as good as anyone, certainly has Syracuse on his radar for a potential 2021 NCAA Tournament at-large spot.

If Syracuse can develop some of its role players such as Ajak or Edwards, and pending Griffin’s eligibility, there’s no reason why they can’t make the NCAA Tournament with the returning pieces they have.

Joe Girard III and Buddy Boeheim are one of the most lethal backcourts in terms of shooting the basketball. Down low, the combination of Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe screams experience and length. With the toughness of Guerrier and guard play of Richmond, the talent is there.

Syracuse basketball didn’t hear their name called on Selection Sunday in 2020, but it really didn’t matter, because, well there was none.

2021 already seems to be trending upward, which has to bode well with the Orange.