Syracuse basketball will likely head into the 2020-21 campaign with relatively mild expectations. That works.
Assuming a collegiate hoops season occurs in a few months amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, Syracuse basketball is in store for an intriguing campaign.
The Orange will return four starters, but star forward Elijah Hughes, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring during 2019-20, is off to the pros. The ‘Cuse has a promising 2020 recruiting class arriving on the Hill, but the team also has seen several guards transfer.
The wild card here is whether Illinois transfer Alan Griffin, a talented wing who has two years of eligibility remaining, will receive a waiver from the NCAA to immediately play.
Even if Griffin can compete in 2020-21, it’s virtually a given, at least for now, that Syracuse will find itself not ranked in the pre-season polls prior to the next stanza commencing.
In the last few days, a sister site of Inside The Loud House, Busting Brackets, and NBC Sports both published their latest top-25 ratings.
The Orange is not included in either list. The same goes for other media outlets, such as CBS Sports and ESPN.com. Should others release their own top-25 power rankings in the future, don’t count on the ‘Cuse making the cut.
That’s reasonable. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Head coach Jim Boeheim and his squads tend to perform admirably in circumstances where they aren’t anticipated to crush things.
Syracuse basketball could absolutely overachieve if the group’s underclassmen develop well.
If Griffin suits up, I think that Syracuse can prove sneaky good in 2020-21. The Orange probably won’t amount to a top-four crew in the ACC, but it could land somewhere in the No. 5 to No. 7 range, which is commendable, considering that Hughes moved on to the professional ranks.
As far as the ACC goes, look for Virginia and Duke to probably reside in the top-two spots, followed by North Carolina, Florida State and Louisville. The ‘Cuse could then factor somewhere in the mix.
I’m interested to see how the pieces come together for Syracuse. The Orange has a nice blend of veterans and younger guys. The ‘Cuse could have a solid term and contend for an NCAA Tournament invite.
It just shouldn’t expect to kick off 2020-21 as a top-25 team.