Syracuse basketball could play in Big Dance even if not initially invited

Syracuse basketball may find itself on the outside looking in for the field of 68 come Selection Sunday, but that doesn’t entirely preclude the Orange from actually playing in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

NCAA officials previously had revealed plans for the location of the upcoming March Madness, as well as health and safety measures amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Now the NCAA has disclosed, via a press release and additional documents, how it will handle scenarios where a team in the Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments has to withdraw from either event due to issues related to Covid-19.

If you’d like to check out the NCAA’s guidelines for potentially replacing teams, they are available for the men’s and women’s tourneys.

CBS will announce the men’s bracket at 6 pm on Sunday, March 14. ESPN will unveil the women’s field at 7 pm on Monday, March 15.

In taking a look at the guidelines for the men’s tournament, once the bracket is disclosed, there will be no reseeding or changing of the bracket.

The NCAA says that, “Reasonable efforts will be made to ensure a full field is in place before the start of the championship. No replacement teams will be introduced after the championship begins.”

The guidelines state that every “participating” league should get the opportunity to have at least one squad in the field. Additionally, per the NCAA, “replacement teams must be among the best teams being considered for an at-large bid.”

Syracuse basketball, if close to the bubble, could play in the Big Dance as a replacement team.

After the men’s field of 68 is announced, if there is a Covid-19 issue with a team from a single-bid conference, that “league may replace its [automatic qualifier] if it is unable to participate due to COVID-19 with the league’s preapproved contingency replacement team if that team can produce seven consecutive daily negative tests.”

For any multi-bid conference, including the Atlantic Coast Conference, where the Orange is a member, that has a group unable to compete because of Covid-19 (whether an automatic qualifier or an at-large team), there is a policy in place.

The last four squads that were not given at-large bids to March Madness would be deemed as the replacement teams, if they want to be considered for this role, and they would get ranked No. 1 to No. 4, with the first unit in these rankings considered the first replacement team, and so on.

This replacement squad would get slotted into the bracket in the position left open by the team that had to withdraw.

"The guidelines add, “Since all four replacement teams would have been seeded as a First Four team had they initially been selected as an at-large team, it is assured that their first-round opponent will not be put at a competitive disadvantage because the replacement team would be either a comparable or lower-seeded team.”"

Furthermore, any of the four replacement teams that don’t suit up in the 2021 NCAA Tournament will continue on as a No. 1 seed in the NIT.

The ‘Cuse has a ton of work to do if it wants to be considered for the Big Dance, and this spring’s March Madness is certainly going to be unlike any other one preceding it.