Syracuse basketball safe in one bracket, but knocked out by Joe Lunardi

The most recent bracketology projections from CBS Sports and ESPN are split as to whether Syracuse basketball will make the Big Dance next spring.

Of course, these predictions are super early, and they really are just summer fodder at this juncture. But any time that ESPN’s resident bracketologist, Joe Lunardi, has the Orange outside his field of 68, it makes for a good time.

The last occasion in which we penned a column about a Lunardi mock bracket, he had the ‘Cuse as a No. 11 seed in the West Region, with an intriguing match-up in the round of 64 against No. 6 seed and former Big East Conference adversary Connecticut.

More recently, though, Lunardi has the Orange out of his bracketology. Syracuse basketball, in fact, is listed as the first team under his first four out category, which is simply the best.

Lunardi has seven groups from the Atlantic Coast Conference in his mock field of 68, but the ‘Cuse has barely missed the cut. To his credit, Lunardi has some fun with this, saying in his write-up, “All is right with the world when Syracuse lands as team No. 69. It’s truly uncanny how often the numbers fall exactly that way.”

Let’s see where Syracuse basketball sits in another bracketology.

While the Orange is out of March Madness, according to Lunardi, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has the ‘Cuse somewhat comfortably within his latest projections.

Palm arranges the Orange as the No. 9 seed in the South Region, where Syracuse basketball would first square off versus No. 8 seed Oklahoma State in the round of 64.

Given how often the ‘Cuse has resided on the Big Dance bubble in recent years, I’d gladly take a No. 9 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse basketball got crushed in its most recent outing against Oklahoma State out of the Big 12 Conference. Playing around the Thanksgiving holiday at a 2019 pre-season tournament in New York City, the Cowboys dominated the Orange, 86-72.

Like Lunardi, Palm has seven ACC teams in his mock bracket, although obviously, Palm has Syracuse basketball in his, whereas Lunardi has Notre Dame in his projected field of 68.

Other heavyweights in Palm’s South Region include No. 1 seed UCLA, No. 2 seed Michigan, No. 3 seed Duke, No. 4 seed Arkansas, No. 5 seed Ohio State, No. 6 seed Auburn and No. 7 seed Connecticut. Yikes.