Syracuse Basketball: Orange women’s team will win ACC, make Final Four

Expectations are appropriately high for the Syracuse basketball women’s squad.

The Syracuse basketball women’s team, after a somewhat disappointing 2019-20 term, is poised for a truly special upcoming campaign.

National pundits are high on the ‘Cuse, with the squad getting placed at No. 23 in the Associated Press pre-season top-25 poll, as well as ESPN’s pre-season top-25 ballot.

Personally, I think that the Orange should have landed a bit higher in both ratings, but the ‘Cuse did struggle a stanza ago, wrapping things up at 16-15, albeit with multiple successes versus nationally ranked foes throughout the last term.

Nonetheless, many commentators out there, myself included, feel that Syracuse basketball will find itself in the top tier of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, while the Orange boasts an excellent opportunity to journey on a deep run in next spring’s March Madness.

This optimistic outlook for the Syracuse basketball women’s team is logical. The ‘Cuse returns four of five starters from 2019-20 and also possesses strong depth on its bench.

Senior guards Kiara Lewis and Tiana Mangakahia, who received an NCAA waiver to compete in the 2020-21 campaign, are All-American and All-ACC candidates.

And the Orange brings in a 2020 recruiting class that is among the best around the country. Cuse.com says that this cycle for Syracuse basketball is rated No. 4, headlined by freshman center Kamilla Cardoso, who is the No. 5 prospect nationally.

The Syracuse basketball women’s squad will contend for an ACC title and a national championship.

The Orange is slotted at No. 3 in the ACC’s two pre-season polls, one from the league’s 15 head coaches and the second from a blue-ribbon panel. The ‘Cuse is situated behind No. 1 Louisville and No. 2 N.C. State.

I believe that, when all is said and done, Syracuse basketball will finish ahead of both of those groups in the conference standings. Lewis and Mangakahia are on the All-ACC pre-season team, while Cardoso is on the league’s newcomer watch list.

Speaking of watch lists, Mangakahia is on one for the 2021 Nancy Lieberman Award, which is doled out annually to the nation’s premier point guard.

Separately, Lewis is on the watch list for the 2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, given out every year to the top shooting guard in Division I women’s basketball.