Syracuse Basketball: Metrics for Orange at this point in term are fairly poor

Syracuse basketball sits at 5-5 overall and 1-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play as the Orange hits the practice floor this week in preparation for hosting Lehigh on Saturday, Dec. 18, in the evening from the Carrier Dome.

With just Lehigh and Cornell left on the non-conference docket for the ‘Cuse, should the Orange take care of those two foes, Syracuse basketball will finish up the non-conference slate at 6-5.

That’s a sub-par record, but the ‘Cuse has also faced a really challenging schedule to date. After that, Syracuse basketball will be fully immersed in ACC clashes to close out the 2021-22 regular season.

Unless the Orange improves within its zone defense and on the glass, I can’t foresee the ‘Cuse being a significant contender for a March Madness berth come next spring.

This is not pessimism on my part, as I love Syracuse basketball like nothing else. But I do believe it’s the reality of where the Orange resides at this point in the 2021-22 stanza.

Let’s take a look at various metrics for Syracuse basketball through 10 games.

At the time of this writing, the ‘Cuse held a No. 68 overall rating via kenpom.com, which isn’t great. The Orange’s adjusted offensive efficiency was No. 22, which is solid, while the team’s adjusted defensive efficiency was No. 166, which is bad.

But like I said earlier, Syracuse basketball has competed against a formidable calendar so far. Case in point, the Orange’s strength of schedule rating, according to kenpom.com, is No. 15.

Looking at the latest NET ranking for Syracuse basketball, it absolutely has a lot of room to go up. The ‘Cuse was at No. 126 when I penned this column.

The Orange is 3-1 at home, 1-1 on the road and 1-3 at neutral sites. Syracuse basketball is 0-2 in quadrant-one games, 2-1 in quadrant two, 1-1 in quadrant three and 2-1 in quadrant four.

Two of the Orange’s setbacks are understandable, as Villanova is No. 9 in the NET, and Auburn is No. 12. The problem is that the other three losses are to No. 74 VCU, No. 172 Georgetown and No. 178 Colgate.

Conversely, the ‘Cuse triumphs are versus No. 43 Indiana, No. 99 Florida State, No. 179 Arizona State, No. 184 Drexel and No. 315 Lafayette.

To help the Orange’s cause, I’d say we want to root for teams like VCU, Georgetown, Colgate, Indiana and Florida State to continue winning throughout 2021-22.

Root for the Hoyas? I know, but if Georgetown has a good season, it makes the Syracuse basketball loss to the Hoyas look “better” as far as the Orange’s NET ranking is concerned.

The next four games for the ‘Cuse, all on the Hill, are against No. 334 Lehigh, No. 140 Cornell, No. 150 Georgia Tech and No. 103 Virginia. Syracuse basketball can ill-afford to fall in any of those home encounters.

Looking further down the road, future ACC opponents with solid NET rankings include No. 8 Duke, No. 31 Wake Forest, No. 34 North Carolina and No. 37 Virginia Tech, among others.