Syracuse basketball does make the cut in two new versions of bracketology.
The 2020-21 campaign has a long way to go, and projected brackets from various experts are pure speculation at this juncture, but with a top-25 NET ranking, I don’t get how Syracuse basketball could get left out of a mock field of 68.
Yes, the Orange doesn’t boast any marquee wins, but it has solid victories over teams such as Bryant, Northeastern and Buffalo, plus a road blow-out of Boston College.
Additional, the sole ‘Cuse (6-1) setback at this point in the present term is at Rutgers, a highly rated foe, in a non-conference duel where the Orange didn’t have two of its starters.
The NCAA disclosed its first NET ratings earlier this week, and these rankings are one of the primary evaluation tools used in determining invites to the Big Dance.
As of Tuesday evening, Syracuse basketball checks in at No. 24 in the NET, which is a really strong placement. I’m not a bracketologist, but one would think that a 6-1 record and a NET rating of No. 24 would get the ‘Cuse into March Madness.
However, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm updated his projected bracket on Jan. 4 and omitted the Orange. Okay, fine, I can live with that. But fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Duke is a No. 10 seed in Palm’s mock field of 68.
The Blue Devils own a 3-2 record and a NET ranking of No. 117. So how exactly is Duke earning an invite, but the Orange isn’t? I honestly don’t get that.
What’s more, Palm’s “last four in” category includes the ACC’s North Carolina, with a mark of 6-4 and a NET of No. 61. In his “first four out” department, he features Marquette, with a 6-5 record and a NET of No. 64, and Providence, with a 7-4 performance and a NET of No. 77, but the ‘Cuse is nowhere to be found.
Please, please – someone explain this to me!
Thankfully, in his new bracketology, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi arranges Syracuse basketball as a No. 10 seed, squaring off with No. 7 seed UCLA in the round of 64.
Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News, providing his bracketology projections for Fox Sports, has the Orange as a No. 10 seed as well, going toe to toe with No. 7 seed BYU in the round of 64.
So all the ‘Cuse must do is keep on winning, and then Palm and other bracketologists will ultimately have no choice but to put Syracuse basketball in their mock fields of 68.