Syracuse Basketball: Projecting ‘Cuse non-conference record in 2022-23

I can’t believe I’m typing this, but the Syracuse basketball 2022-23 season gets underway in just about three months’ time!

While I’m not a huge fan of the weather during the winter months, having the Orange to watch is something that keeps me warm and toasty when it’s frigid outside.

Naturally, I feel better when the ‘Cuse is good to great, and neither of those descriptions was the case a stanza ago, when the team went 16-17 overall.

I’ll always opine that watching Buddy Boeheim and Jimmy Boeheim suit up together and play for their dad, Orange head coach Jim Boeheim, was special.

But simultaneously, 2021-22 was a disaster, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Syracuse basketball can do on the court with a vastly remade roster that includes several veterans and a whole lot of underclassmen.

Let’s forecast how Syracuse basketball will perform during its 2022-23 non-conference slate.

This coming season, the ‘Cuse once again has 11 non-conference battles on its docket. On paper, this calendar doesn’t look as daunting as a stanza ago, but “paper” projections ultimately don’t mean squat.

Of those 11 encounters, eight are at home, two are on a neutral floor, and one is on the road.

November 7 vs. Lehigh (13-19 last year)
Syracuse basketball should kick off its 2022-22 season with a victory, as I don’t get the sense that Lehigh is a super-imposing squad.
I’ll be so curious as to what Jim Boeheim’s starting line-up to begin 2022-23 will look like, and how the minutes are divided up, particularly as it relates to the team’s incoming 2022 six-member recruiting class.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Win

November 15 vs. Colgate (23-12 last year)
Yuck. The Raiders steamrolled the Orange on the Hill last season, and Colgate has been a very good team in recent years. I was tempted to pick the Raiders to pull off the upset for a second-straight stanza, but I am hopeful the ‘Cuse will exact revenge in this one.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Win

November 19 vs. Northeastern (9-22 last year)
No disrespect to Northeastern, but I assume the Orange will cruise in this affair.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Win

November 21 vs. Richmond (24-13 last year)
So the ‘Cuse will play two games on November 21-22 as part of the 2022 Empire Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y. The bracket isn’t yet known, so I’m playing the part of a guessing game here.
I’ll say that Syracuse basketball will face pesky Richmond in the first contest, with Temple and St. John’s on the other side of the bracket. Quick update: after I wrote this piece, but before it published, the match-ups were set, and the ‘Cuse is playing Richmond in its first contest.
I’m not going to revisit what the Spiders did to the Orange years back in the Big Dance. Richmond was pretty good in 2021-22, and the ‘Cuse has often come up short in these recent pre-season tournaments.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Loss

November 22 vs. Temple (17-12 last year)
If the Orange loses to Richmond, I’ll forecast that St. John’s is the winner on the side of the 2022 Empire Classic bracket, so the championship game would be St. John’s versus Richmond, while the ‘Cuse would play Temple in a consolation game.
I assume Syracuse basketball players won’t be too happy if they fall to the Spiders, so I’ll project that the Orange will play better on day two and beat the Owls with relative ease.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Win

November 26 vs. Bryant (22-10 last year)
In recent years, the Orange has seemed to lose at least one home game in the non-conference docket that it probably should have won.
The Colgate encounter is probably a more logical choice in 2022-23, but I’ll go with Bryant. The Bulldogs almost knocked off the ‘Cuse in Central New York during the 2020-21 campaign, and this time around, Bryant will stun the Orange. Gross.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Loss

November 29 at Illinois (23-10 last year)
The lone true road contest for the ‘Cuse in the 2022-23 non-conference is at Illinois in the battle of “orange” teams as part of the 2022 ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
I acknowledge that Syracuse basketball has won on the road in this annual event in the past, but I don’t see it happening at Illinois, which has been one of the best groups in the Big Ten Conference lately.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Loss

December 6 vs. Oakland (20-12 last year)
This could be a sneaky tough affair for the Orange, but the ‘Cuse emerges triumphant.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Win

December 10 vs. Georgetown (6-25 last year)
The Hoyas were so bad a season ago, yet they beat a sub-par Orange team by four points in our nation’s capital. Ain’t gonna happen again. The ‘Cuse takes care of business against its fiercest rival.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Win

December 12 vs. Monmouth (21-13 last year)
Monmouth is another squad that was solid in 2021-22 and could be a somewhat tough foe for the Orange. The ‘Cuse, though, will get it done.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Win

December 17 vs. Cornell (15-11 last year)
In the Orange’s final non-conference game of the 2022-23 stanza, the ‘Cuse hosts its long-time Central New York neighbor. And Syracuse basketball will wrap up the non-conference slate with a convincing conquest.
Syracuse Basketball Prediction: Win

Projected Non-Conference Record for Syracuse Basketball in 2022-23: 8-3
Hey, it could be a lot worse than 8-3, in my humble opinion.