Syracuse Basketball: Initial KenPom rating is undeniably encouraging

Of course, Syracuse basketball has yet to suit up for an actual game, but the pre-season KenPom ranking for the Orange is solid.

Ken Pomeroy is well-respected in collegiate hoops for his advanced data and statistical analyses, so his placement of Syracuse basketball in his pre-season top 30 is definitely exciting.

Yes, the Orange and every other Division I team out there still have a few more weeks before commencing their 2020-21 campaigns amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, so this pre-season KenPom rating and every other pre-season ranking out there on the ‘Cuse have to get taken with a grain of salt.

However, in 2019-20, when Syracuse basketball wrapped up its stanza at 18-14, the Orange possessed a KenPom rating of No. 51.

The ‘Cuse adjusted offensive efficiency last year was No. 21 nationwide, while the squad’s adjusted defensive efficiency checked in at No. 116. That proved logical, as Syracuse basketball didn’t usually have an issue scoring, but its 2-3 zone struggled throughout 2019-20, to put it mildly.

Fast-forward to the present, and despite losing former star forward Elijah Hughes and his abundance of offensive production to the pro ranks, KenPom has the Orange at No. 29 in its pre-season rankings ahead of the 2020-21 term.

What’s more, the ‘Cuse adjusted offensive efficiency has taken only a small step back, likely factoring in Hughes’ departure after his redshirt-junior stint, to No. 27, and the team’s adjusted defensive efficiency has soared all the way up to No. 35.

Syracuse basketball owns a pre-season top-30 ranking via KenPom, which is really good.

That KenPom has the Orange at No. 35 in adjusted defensive efficiency is what has caught my attention the most. Even minus Hughes, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading scorer in 2019-20, I’ve kind of figured all along that the ‘Cuse will still have the ability to score at a relatively consistent pace.

For me, the team’s defense is the wild card. A young roster from a year ago has a season of experience under its belt, and Illinois transfer Alan Griffin, a junior, provides an added boost to a deep rotation.

But should the Syracuse basketball zone prove able to put the clamps down on opponents at a much-improved clip in 2020-21, the Orange has the makings of a fringe top-25 squad, a top-six ACC crew, and a group that will hear its name called on Selection Sunday next March.

By the way, the five ACC teams ahead of the ‘Cuse in the pre-season KenPom ratings are No. 3 Duke, No. 14 Louisville, No. 16 Virginia, No. 19 Florida State and No. 23 North Carolina.

Those are the five units that I anticipate will finish ahead of Syracuse basketball in the league’s 2020-21 standings. The Cavaliers, deemed a pre-season top-five squad nationally according to many pundits, arrived a bit lower in the KenPom rankings than I would have expected.