If I end up jinxing Syracuse basketball and its fan base with this column, I apologize in advance. Selection Sunday isn’t here quite yet, but my gut tells me that the Orange will receive an at-large invite to the 2021 March Madness. That’s right, ‘Cuse fanatics. We can all exhale.
Of course, there are bid-stealers out there suiting up on Saturday night, so I shouldn’t get too far ahead of myself. However, the way that Syracuse basketball has trended of late, even after its heart-breaking loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament on Thursday afternoon, a lot of weird stuff is going to have to transpire for the Orange to get left out of the field of 68.
Over on the Bracket Matrix Web site, the ‘Cuse continues to see the number of projected brackets that it appears in go up, with the latest being 119, along with an average seed line of 11.68.
CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has placed Syracuse basketball above his last four in category, with Palm projecting the Orange as a No. 11 seed in the East Region and earning a round of 64 duel against No. 6 seed Colorado.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, meanwhile, on Saturday removed the ‘Cuse from his last four in group and has installed Syracuse basketball among his last four byes.
What I’m a little confused by, though, is that Lunardi’s projected field of 68 also has the Orange as a No. 11 seed and competing versus fellow No. 11 seed Drake in the First Four, with the winner taking on No. 6 seed Southern California and its star freshman big man, Evan Mobley.
Syracuse basketball is in a really good spot for the NCAA Tournament.
We all know what happened when the ‘Cuse entered the Big Dance as a double-digit seed in 2016 and 2018, as the Orange advanced to the Final Four in 2016 as a No. 10 seed, and the team got to the Sweet 16 in 2018 as a No. 11 seed.
So assuming that Syracuse basketball hears its name called on Sunday evening, given how the ‘Cuse has played of late, there’s no reason to think that the Orange can’t produce a similar kind of run in 2021.
Yes, Syracuse basketball lost to top-seeded UVA in the ACC Tournament’s quarterfinal round. But the Orange fell at the buzzer to a top-20 squad on a neutral court.
Immediately prior to that, the ‘Cuse destroyed red-hot N.C. State in the event’s second round, and Syracuse basketball also notched home victories over NCAA Tournament-bound North Carolina and Clemson.
It’s all about match-ups in the Big Dance, and even though the Orange’s 2-3 zone has struggled on numerous occasions in 2020-21, the zone is also difficult to prepare for in a short window of time.
Atlantic Coast Conference teams know Syracuse basketball better than potential opponents from other leagues, and if junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim continues his recent stellar output, the ‘Cuse will be a tough out for whichever squad is lined up against the Orange in the bracket.