Syracuse Basketball: No love for Orange in Andy Katz’s first mock bracket

Andy Katz isn’t super high on Syracuse basketball, at least as far as pre-season prognostications are concerned prior to the 2020-21 term commencing.

Syracuse basketball didn’t make the cut in college basketball insider Andy Katz’s inaugural mock brocket for the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

This isn’t a huge surprise, since Katz didn’t feature the Orange in his recent Power 36 rankings, nor did the ‘Cuse get mentioned among the 22 squads in his “under consideration” category.

Still, Katz appears a bit against the grain here, as other bracketologists, such as ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, are slotting Syracuse basketball in their pre-season mock fields of 68, even if the Orange isn’t seeded all that high.

Katz has six Atlantic Coast Conference squads in his first projected bracket, and they are No. 2 seed Virginia, No. 3 seed Duke, No. 6 seed Florida State, No. 7 seed North Carolina, No. 11 seed Georgia Tech and No. 12 seed Louisville.

In his “first four out” department, Katz includes two ACC crews, Clemson and N.C. State. His “next four out” listing also doesn’t possess Syracuse basketball.

Syracuse basketball is shut out of Andy Katz’s initial mock bracket for the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

From my perspective, what this mock field from Katz tells me is that, at this juncture, he views the Orange as no better than the No. 9 group in the ACC. We can agree to disagree here, because I don’t think that the ‘Cuse should get deemed that low in the conference.

In fact, with talented junior wing Alan Griffin, a transfer from Illinois, able to officially compete in the 2020-21 stanza after receiving a waiver from the NCAA for immediate eligibility, I forecast Syracuse basketball as a fringe top-25 team, a top-six squad in the ACC and absolutely a Big Dance participant.

The four No. 1 seeds in Katz’s field of 68, by the way, are Gonzaga, Baylor, former Big East Conference rival Villanova and Illinois. The No. 2 seeds are the aforementioned Cavaliers, along with Iowa, Wisconsin and Kansas.

Another Empire State unit, Colgate, is a No. 16 seed. Iona, now coached by former Orange assistant and two-time national champion Rick Pitino, is a No. 12 seed.