Syracuse basketball out, ACC fairly woeful in latest ESPN bracketology

Syracuse basketball is barely represented on the Bracket Matrix Web site these days, so it’s no surprise that the Orange is on the outside looking in as it pertains to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s resident bracketologist, Joe Lunardi.

Lunardi updated his mock field of 68 on Friday morning, and he has the ‘Cuse in his next four out category, along with former Big East Conference rival St. John’s, Ole Miss and SMU.

With a NET ranking of around No. 50, Syracuse basketball (12-6, 6-5) is preparing to host Notre Dame in an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown on Saturday afternoon inside the Carrier Dome.

The Orange doesn’t own a lot of bad losses so far in the 2020-21 campaign, but it’s also lacking in coveted quadrant-one successes. The ‘Cuse has missed out on several opportunities for possible marquee wins due to game postponements amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, but in all fairness, the team has suffered setbacks in a few encounters where it could have notched quadrant-one or at least quadrant-two triumphs.

Syracuse basketball is not getting much love from bracketologists.

Besides its meeting with the Fighting Irish, the Orange has regular-season duels scheduled with North Carolina at home, as well as with Duke and Georgia Tech on the road.

There’s also the potential for the ‘Cuse to make up a game or two, and the Orange has the upcoming ACC Tournament where it could make some noise. But, undeniably, Syracuse basketball has work to do if it wants to go dancing next month.

As far as the ACC goes, Lunardi places six league members in his most recent bracket. They are No. 3 seed Virginia, No. 4 seed Florida State, No. 6 seed Virginia Tech, No. 7 seed Clemson, No. 8 seed Louisville and No. 11 seed North Carolina.

A half-dozen participants isn’t entirely awful for the ACC, however, the seeding of these squads is pretty darn low by the league’s recent historical standards. Part of the issue is that usual stars like Duke and UNC aren’t having stellar 2020-21 performances.

The four No. 1 seeds in Lunardi’s latest mock field are Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan and Ohio State, which are from my perspective clearly the top-four groups in the country.

Other notables to mention in his bracket are No. 7 seed Rutgers, which defeated the Orange in the non-conference slate, No. 12 seed St. Bonaventure, No. 13 seed Colgate and No. 15 seed Siena.