The Syracuse basketball schedule for the 2021-22 season is fully wrapped up, and it should prove a challenging and exciting one for the team and the Orange fan base.
A year ago, the ‘Cuse had a solid regular-stanza record and snuck into the Big Dance, where Syracuse basketball went on yet another magical run, this time to the Sweet 16.
Though the Orange fell to eventual Final Four participant Houston in the regional semifinals, the ‘Cuse ended its 2020-21 term on a high note, and with momentum heading into next season.
Of course, the NCAA’s new transfer policy that allows all student-athletes to transfer once and retain immediate eligibility has created a free-agency explosion in collegiate hoops.
And Syracuse basketball wasn’t immune to this over the off-season, with several guys leaving the program. Conversely, the Orange’s 2021-22 roster welcomes in several transfers as well.
The ‘Cuse also has a five-star forward making up its 2021 recruiting class, to go along with these transfers and an existing roster that includes numerous veterans, led by pre-season All-American candidate Buddy Boeheim, who is a senior shooting guard for the Orange.
Now, as pre-season prognostications from national pundits go, at this juncture Syracuse basketball isn’t getting a ton of love from these so-called experts, with the bevy of journalists and analysts not believing that the ‘Cuse will amount to a top-25 squad in 2021-22.
I’m good with that. Syracuse basketball often fares well when the expectations for the team are tempered (2002-03, anyone?). So it shouldn’t surprise us Orange fanatics out there if Syracuse basketballs enters 2021-22 not nationally ranked in the pre-season top-25 polls.
Honestly, who cares. It’s how the ‘Cuse finishes the season that matters to me. To that end, in recent months, some bracketologists have put out super early projections for the 2022 NCAA Tournament, and Syracuse basketball is either squarely on the bubble, or the Orange has been left out of the field of 68.
Now, to me, I have a feeling that the ‘Cuse is going to surprise some folks, in a good way, and that includes hearing its name called on Selection Sunday come next spring, even if we all have to sweat things out for a bit.
I also foresee the Orange completing its 2021-22 regular season as a top-six group in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. It won’t be easy, though.
Syracuse basketball boasts a daunting 2021-22 docket, both in the non-conference and for its ACC slate. In this piece, we’re taking a look at the top-10 games for the ‘Cuse in the upcoming term.