Syracuse Basketball: Jon Rothstein currently has Orange outside of top 25

Not too long ago, we penned a column detailing that college basketball insider Andy Katz is pretty bullish on Syracuse basketball ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

Katz, in his recently published pre-season bracketology for the 2022 Big Dance, places the Orange as a No. 5 seed, with an overall ranking of No. 18. That’s darn good, if you ask me, as the ‘Cuse is only behind perennial heavyweight Virginia in Katz’s Atlantic Coast Conference pecking order.

Another collegiate hoops insider, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, also recently came out with his pre-season top-45 ratings prior to 2021-22, and he’s got the Orange a bit further down, at least for the time being.

The main thing that I want to preface here is that these super early prognostications for the ‘Cuse and the rest of the teams in Division I men’s basketball are really “guesstimates” and should get taken with a grain of salt. That being said, I respect the opinions of both Rothstein and Katz, as they know a ton about the sport.

See where a pundit arranges Syracuse basketball on a national scale.

In his top 45, Rothstein presently puts the Orange at No. 32 overall. This is not a terrible placement and falls in line with numerous other national analysts and commentators. Obviously, it’s not No. 18, where Katz has the ‘Cuse.

Rothstein’s top 10, in order, is Gonzaga, UCLA, Villanova, Kansas, Texas, Purdue, Michigan, Illinois, Oregon and Baylor. For what it’s worth, Syracuse basketball is slated to play Villanova this season in New York City, and the Orange could also face Baylor, the defending NCAA champs, in the 2021 Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis.

As far as the ACC is concerned, Rothstein has seven teams from this conference in his rankings. In order, they are No. 11 Duke, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 20 Virginia, No. 22 Florida State, No. 31 Virginia Tech, No. 32 Syracuse basketball and No. 45 Notre Dame.

Based on the ‘Cuse 2021-22 schedule that was recently unveiled and we have discussed a couple of times, Syracuse basketball will square off with a ton of opponents that Rothstein believes will be among the premier squads this coming stanza.

Oh, and the Orange’s foe on the Hill in the 2021 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Indiana, checks in at No. 36, according to Rothstein.

So, my fellow fans, what do you think of Rothstein’s top-45 ratings, as well as where he has the ‘Cuse?