Syracuse Basketball: Orange ‘should be more than a spoiler’ in the ACC

CBS Sports experts have Syracuse basketball in a respectable position within the ACC.

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein recently forecast Syracuse basketball to finish at No. 7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and now a group of his CBS Sports colleagues, collectively, is placing the Orange in the exact same position.

Coming in at No. 7 is roughly where the bevy of national commentators and writers to date have arranged the ‘Cuse within the ACC’s 15 members. Some are putting Syracuse basketball at No. 8, No. 9 or maybe even No. 10.

While I haven’t seen a lot of experts, or frankly many at all, give the Orange a predicted landing spot better than seventh, I’m on record in saying that I believe Syracuse basketball will wind up at No. 6 in the conference when all is said and done, behind Virginia, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Louisville.

The new CBS Sports picks have Virginia at No. 1 as well, followed by Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, Syracuse basketball, Georgia Tech, Clemson, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Boston College and Wake Forest.

Syracuse basketball is placed at No. 7 within the ACC, per a CBS Sports article.

"In the CBS Sports piece, Matt Norlander has this to say about the Orange. “Syracuse opened its season almost a year ago with a home loss to Virginia that was historic, scoring just 34 points. Yet Jim Boeheim managed to get his team to the No. 21-ranked offensive in college hoops by the end of the season, and that with a roster that had its skeptics. The depth of the ACC starts to become a question right about here, but Syracuse should be more than a spoiler. Buddy Boeheim and Joseph Girard will have to carry this team, now that Elijah Hughes has moved on for a pro career. SU has seven freshmen on the roster and Boeheim doesn’t play a deep bench, so this will be interesting.”"

Norlander is one of the best in the business, however, his comment that junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim and sophomore point guard Girard “will have to carry” the ‘Cuse is a bit of an overstatement, in my humble opinion.

Let’s not forget about senior big men Bourama Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj, sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier, junior wing Alan Griffin, a talented 2020 recruiting class, and multiple other reserve players with promise.