Syracuse Basketball: ACC is ranked the No. 3 league by Jon Rothstein

Syracuse basketball and its ACC peers are in store for a solid season, but the conference won’t prove No. 1, Jon Rothstein says.

Syracuse basketball enters the upcoming 2020-21 campaign as a likely NCAA Tournament-caliber team, although the national pundits think that the Orange isn’t among the top four or top six of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Given the novel coronavirus pandemic, the ‘Cuse and its counterparts around the country will play fewer contests in the next stanza than they normally do, and schedules continue to get ironed out.

Still, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, one of the best in the business, has gone ahead and rated the top-10 leagues across collegiate hoops. The ACC is usually No. 1 or No. 2 in the sport, although that conference had a down year in 2019-20.

Rothstein, for 2020-21, is arranging the ACC at No. 3, trailing only the Big Ten Conference and the Big 12 Conference. That sounds about right to me.

The ACC will have its usual heavyweights this stanza, including Virginia, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Louisville.

However, the Big Ten and the Big 12 are really loaded in 2020-21. The Big Ten has juggernauts like Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State. The Big 12 boasts Baylor, Kansas, Texas, West Virginia and Texas Tech, among others.

In his ROTHSTEIN 45, there are eight ACC crews ranked, and they are Virginia, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, Miami, Louisville, Syracuse basketball and Georgia Tech.

"Here’s what Rothstein had to say about the ACC in 2020-21. “Top heavy would have been the best way to describe the ACC last season as only four or five teams likely would have played in the NCAA Tournament. Expect balance and depth to return in 20-21. In addition to the eight teams listed above, Clemson, NC State, and Notre Dame will all begin practice on Oct. 14th with a realistic chance of hearing their name called on Selection Sunday.”"

Following the ACC in Rothstein’s ratings are the Big East Conference, the Southeastern Conference, the Pac-12 Conference, the American Athletic Conference, the Atlantic 10 Conference, the West Coast Conference and the Mountain West Conference.