Syracuse women’s basketball is primed for a stellar 2020-21 season

Syracuse women’s basketball wouldn’t have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament, but the Orange can replicate its 2016 run in the upcoming campaign.

Syracuse women’s basketball wrapped up its 2019-20 campaign at 16-15 and would have missed the Big Dance for the first time in eight stanzas if not for the event getting canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Still, despite that, the Orange did compile multiple victories over ranked foes in the most-recent term. The ‘Cuse just couldn’t maintain the consistency needed to compete with the top-tier in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Expect that to drastically, and positively, change during 2020-21. Assuming this season actually occurs – and who knows at this juncture given uncertainty over the pandemic – Syracuse won’t only seriously contend in the ACC.

The Orange will also find itself, similar to its magical journey to the 2016 March Madness title contest, in the national conversation among a core group of squads that will realistically vie for a Final Four appearance in the 2021 NCAA tourney.

In ESPN.com’s way-too-early top-25 rankings for 2020-21, the ‘Cuse checks in at No. 23. And last week, in ESPN.com’s first bracketology for the upcoming term, Syracuse is projected as a No. 6 seed, where it would face No. 11 seed St. John’s.

Since these types of prognostications are super premature, I won’t get on my soap box too much here. However, if things shape together for the Orange as I expect that they should, the ‘Cuse will have a much-higher ranking, and a much-better NCAA Tournament seed, when all is said and done.

The rationale is fairly straight-forward. Tiana Mangakahia, who heroically is coming back from breast cancer, hopefully will get granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA. And, really, how could the NCAA do anything but provide her with another campaign?

Mangakahia, Syracuse’s career assists leader, would join four returning starters, including the team’s top scorer, All-ACC guard Kiara Lewis, as well as wing Emily Engstler, who averaged basically a double-double in 2019-20.

Oh, and the Orange’s already-deep rotation will also welcome in a 2020 recruiting class that is rated No. 4 across the country according to espnW HoopGurlz, per this cuse.com press release.

The ‘Cuse 2020 class features two players who are in the top 10 nationally, and they are five-star post Kamilla Cardoso and five-star guard Priscilla Williams.

On an administrative note which will impact Syracuse and its peers, the NCAA announced on Monday that beginning with the 2020-21 stanza, the NCAA will replace the RPI with the NET formula as the contemporary sorting tool used to help evaluate program resumes for selection and seeding in the Big Dance.

While the NET, which is already used in men’s hoops, is far from perfect, it’s definitely better than the antiquated RPI.

Getting back to the Orange, the pieces are in place for the ‘Cuse to shine in 2020-21. Mangakahia, and her teammates, deserve it.