Syracuse Basketball: Where foes are nationally ranked, projected in ACC

Heading into the 2022-23 regular season, which begins for Syracuse basketball on November 7 at home versus Lehigh, the Orange isn’t ranked in the Associated Press preseason top-25 poll.

That isn’t much of a surprise.

Additionally, the ‘Cuse is projected to finish at No. 8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s standings, per the league’s preseason media poll that recently got unveiled.

That, too, isn’t much of a surprise.

The Orange, which went 16-17 a stanza ago, looks to rebound in 2022-23. The ‘Cuse roster, vastly made over from 2021-22, is an intriguing blend of senior veterans and a whole lot of underclassmen.

Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim recently said that he really likes the team’s current roster, and he expects the Orange to earn an NCAA Tournament bid next spring.

Let’s look at where Syracuse basketball opponents are ranked, forecast in the ACC.

North Carolina, a blue-blood program that reached the Big Dance title game this past April, is the preseason No. 1 squad in the AP poll, and the Tar Heels are also predicted to finish at No. 1 in the ACC.

UNC has a loaded line-up in 2022-23, with the Tar Heels returning the majority of its starting rotation.

In reviewing the AP preseason poll, Syracuse basketball will face one top-25 team in the non-conference slate. As far as the Orange’s ACC calendar, four games are versus nationally ranked opponents, while another six contests are against groups that are receiving votes in the AP’s preseason ballot.

Have a look at the full 2022-23 schedule for Syracuse basketball below, including which foes are nationally ranked, as well as where opponents are projected to finish in the ACC race.

Non-Conference Slate (11 games)

November 7 vs. Lehigh

November 15 vs. Colgate

November 19 vs. Northeastern

November 21 vs. Richmond (Empire Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y.)

November 22 vs. St. John’s or Temple (Empire Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y.)

November 26 vs. Bryant

November 29 at Illinois (ACC-Big Ten Challenge)
AP poll: No. 23

December 6 vs. Oakland

December 10 vs. Georgetown

December 12 vs. Monmouth

December 17 vs. Cornell

ACC Calendar (20 games)

December 3 at Notre Dame
AP poll: 1 vote
ACC forecast: No. 6

December 20 vs. Pittsburgh
ACC forecast: No. 14

December 30 or 31 vs. Boston College
ACC forecast: No. 13

January 3 at Louisville
ACC forecast: No. 12

January 7 at Virginia
AP poll: No. 18
ACC forecast: No. 3

January 11 vs. Virginia Tech
AP poll: 1 vote
ACC forecast: No. 7

January 14 vs. Notre Dame
AP poll: 1 vote
ACC forecast: No. 6

January 16 at Miami
AP poll: 66 votes
ACC forecast: No. 4

January 21 at Georgia Tech
ACC forecast: No. 15

January 24 vs. North Carolina
AP poll: No. 1
ACC forecast: No. 1

January 28 at Virginia Tech
AP poll: 1 vote
ACC forecast: No. 7

January 30 vs. Virginia
AP poll: No. 18
ACC forecast: No. 3

February 4 at Boston College
ACC forecast: No. 13

February 8 at Florida State
AP poll: 32 votes
ACC forecast: No. 5

February 14 vs. N.C. State
ACC forecast: No. 10

February 18 vs. Duke
AP poll: No. 7
ACC forecast: No. 2

February 22 at Clemson
ACC forecast: No. 11

February 25 at Pittsburgh
ACC forecast: No. 14

February 28 vs. Georgia Tech
ACC forecast: No. 15

March 4 vs. Wake Forest
ACC forecast: No. 9