The latest time that we checked in with ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, he didn’t have Syracuse basketball in his most recent bracketology.
But that was the late summer, and things are different now, even though the Orange just suited up for its first game of the 2021-22 season on Tuesday night in Central New York.
On Tuesday morning, Lunardi revealed his newest projections for the 2022 Big Dance, and as he put it, the ‘Cuse is “comfortably!” in the field of 68. Phew. I was worried for a second.
All kidding aside, a lot of Syracuse basketball fans like to throw shade at Lunardi, and I never understood that. He has fun with Orange fans, and these super early bracketology predictions are fairly meaningless at this juncture, other than to spark debate!
Let’s see where Joe Lunardi has Syracuse basketball in his mock bracket.
Lunardi has the ‘Cuse situated in the West Region as a No. 9 seed, where the Orange would square off with No. 8 seed LSU out of the Southeastern Conference in the round of 64.
This region, by the way, is totally loaded and would prove wildly entertaining.
The No. 1 seed is last season’s runner-up, Gonzaga, followed by No. 2 seed and defending national champion Baylor, No. 3 seed Memphis, No. 4 seed Ohio State, No. 5 seed Oregon (hi, Quincy Guerrier), No. 6 seed St. Bonaventure, No. 7 seed Michigan State, No. 10 seed Florida, No. 11 seed Colorado, No. 12 seed Buffalo, No. 13 seed New Mexico State, No. 14 seed Wright State, No. 15 seed Colgate and No. 16 seeds Texas Southern and Morgan State playing in the First Four.
Besides Gonzaga, the other No. 1 seeds are Kansas, Michigan and UCLA, according to Lunardi.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has the most squads in his field, with eight bids, although the ACC doesn’t have a ton of really high seeds. ACC members included in Lunardi’s bracketology are No. 3 seed Duke, No. 5 seed Florida State, No. 6 seed North Carolina, No. 8 seed Virginia, No. 8 seed Virginia Tech, No. 9 seed Notre Dame, No. 9 seed Syracuse basketball and No. 10 seed Louisville.
Teams in Lunardi’s mock field of 68 that the Orange will face in the non-conference docket include the aforementioned Colgate, a No. 15 seed, as well as No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 7 seed Indiana.
Besides those already noted, other groups from the Empire State that made the cut, per Lunardi, are No. 11 seed St. John’s and No. 15 seed Iona.