Syracuse basketball, N.Y. teams represented well in Lunardi prediction
ESPN bracketologist, Joe Lunardi released another way-too-early edition. He included Syracuse basketball in the field of 68, but just barely.
Syracuse basketball is on the cut line for what seems like a tenth straight year, as the Orange have talented players, but nothing to set them clearly inside NCAA Tournament projections. ESPN bracketologist, Joe Lunardi has SU in as an 11-seed.
In his August 10 edition, Lunardi placed Syracuse hoops in a play-in game versus Marquette, with both teams as 11-seeds. As a last-four in team, he has the Orange in the Dallas, Texas regional, with a round-of-64 game against 6-seed Houston and Texas Tech as the would-be 3-seed.
Of course, the Marquette game sticks out as an old Big East matchup. The teams haven’t faced since their conference days, but Syracuse leads the all-time series 8-4, with the Orange taking the last meeting in the 2013 Elite Eight.
The Orange would be a threat to any team it faces, as Joe Girard III and Buddy Boeheim are sure to form one of the top shooting backcourts in college basketball. Experience down low from Bourama Sidibe, Marek Dolezaj, and rising sophomore, Quincy Guerrier, should create a balanced team that Head Coach Jim Boeheim can use to his advantage.
For Marquette, it will be about replacing Markus Howard. The Big East’s all-time leading scorer was a flat out bucket getter, but Steve Wojciechowski knows how to recruit to the Golden Eagles’ shooting strengths.
Although Syracuse basketball is the premiere New York team, Lunardi included plenty of others in his bracketology, citing how good of a basketball state it is.
He gave Siena, which is located in Albany, a 15-seed as the automatic qualifier from the MAAC. Colgate, which is in Hamilton, also received a 15-seed, which would come from the Patriot’s auto-bid. Western New York’s Buffalo Bulls are currently projected as a 14-seed by Lunardi, in the challenging MAC.
For what it’s worth, northeast hoops made up a lot of Lunardi’s bracket. Other than the New York teams listed above, Lunardi has Villanova (1 seed), Rutgers (6), UConn (9), Seton Hall (11), Providence (11), Vermont (12), Yale (13), and Farleigh Dickinson (16) all in the field of 68.
Not only does that show the strength of New York basketball, but it also highlights how good hoops are in the Northeast, making up for nearly 25 percent of the bracket.
If there is a season in 2020-21, New York state is in for one heck of a ride, and Syracuse basketball will surely be at the forefront of the state.