Syracuse Basketball: Orange in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology First Four
By Neil Adler
Syracuse basketball barely sneaks into Joe Lunardi’s latest version of bracketology.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is amply represented in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s most-recent mock field of 68, with Lunardi slotting Syracuse basketball in the First Four.
The Orange is one of the last four in Lunardi’s bracketology released this week, along with fellow ACC foe Clemson and a pair of Big East Conference schools in Marquette and Seton Hall.
Out in the West Region, the ‘Cuse and Seton Hall would go toe to toe, with the winner of that First Four match-up between No. 11 seeds then taking on No. 6 seed Michigan.
The Wolverines, as we all know, stung Syracuse in the 2013 Final Four, and nothing would prove sweeter than the Orange having an opportunity to knock off Michigan.
Also in this Lexington, Ky., part of the West Region is an enticing duel that pits the No. 3 seed Texas and Empire State crew Buffalo, a No. 14 seed.
Joe Lunardi has Syracuse basketball and numerous other ACC participants in his bracketology.
More than half of the squads in the ACC – eight of 15 total members – are in Lunardi’s new projected bracket, with a ninth unit, Virginia Tech, among the first four out. Only the Big Ten Conference, with nine included teams in Lunardi’s field, has more than the ACC.
If the ACC actually ends up with that level of inclusion in next spring’s NCAA Tournament, it’s a vast improvement over the much smaller number of league members – likely four or five – that would have heard their names called in the 2020 Big Dance, had it not gotten canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
As far as the ACC goes, Lunardi in his mock bracket has No. 1 seed Virginia, No. 2 seed Duke, No. 5 seed North Carolina, No. 5 seed Louisville, No. 5 seed Florida State, No. 8 seed Miami, No. 11 seed Clemson, and No. 11 seed Syracuse.
Other groups to note are New York state squads No. 15 seed Siena and No. 16 seed Colgate, No. 8 seed Alabama, which is led by former Buffalo head coach Nate Oats, No. 9 seed Richmond (gross), No. 10 seed Connecticut (yuck), and No. 8 seed LSU, whom the ‘Cuse is slated to face in the 2020 Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.