Syracuse Basketball: Sizing up the Orange’s solid, but not stellar, resume

Assuming that Syracuse basketball doesn’t play an additional regular-season contest this coming weekend, something that head coach Jim Boeheim says likely won’t happen, then the next stop for the Orange is the 2021 ACC Tournament, which will transpire from March 9-13 in Greensboro, N.C.

And if the 2020-21 regular stanza has, indeed, wrapped up for the ‘Cuse, then the team heads into the ACC tourney with some positive momentum, having defeated quality foes North Carolina and Clemson in its two most recent conference clashes.

By no means has the Orange’s conquering of the Tar Heels and the Tigers earned Syracuse basketball an invite to the 2021 Big Dance. The ‘Cuse is still barely represented on the 2021 Bracket Matrix Web site, although numerous well-known bracketologists do have the Orange near the proverbial bubble for the field of 68.

CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has arranged Syracuse basketball in his first four out category, while ESPN’s Joe Lunardi placed the ‘Cuse as the top squad in his next four out group after the Orange won against Clemson, 64-54, on Wednesday night in Central New York.

During the ACC Network’s broadcast of Syracuse basketball suiting up versus the Tigers, Lunardi said that the ‘Cuse needed to beat Clemson and then grab two victories in the ACC Tournament to remain in the conversation as a bubble team for the upcoming March Madness. Most Orange fans, myself included, would agree that the ‘Cuse still has work to do.

Let’s dissect the Syracuse basketball 2021 Big Dance resume.

The Orange sits at 15-8 overall, 9-7 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and 6-1 in the non-conference slate. The ‘Cuse is an impressive 13-1 at home and a sub-par 2-7 on the road.

Additionally, Syracuse basketball sports a 5-7 mark in quadrant one/two, as well as a 10-1 record in quadrant three/four. The main knock against the Orange is that it only has one success in quadrant one.

Conversely, other than an awful setback to Pittsburgh at the Dome earlier in the season, the ‘Cuse doesn’t own any bad losses, as the remainder of its defeats has occurred away from the Hill.

Syracuse basketball has a couple of nice achievements, against Virginia Tech, Clemson and UNC, for example. But the Orange could really use a few more quadrant-one wins, and it will have an opportunity for that on a neutral court at the ACC Tournament.

Through games on March 3, the ‘Cuse checks in with a No. 51 NET ranking. Like its overall profile, this rating is okay, but not great. However, if Syracuse basketball can muster up several triumphs next week in Greensboro, the Orange likely will hear its name called on Selection Sunday.

Boeheim, in his Zoom call with media members after the ‘Cuse dispatched of the Tigers, said of the Orange’s NCAA Tournament resume, “I think we’ve done a lot.”

He added, “It’s hard to go 9-7 in this league.”