Syracuse Basketball: Top takeaways on the Orange’s 2023-24 ACC docket

The 20-game Atlantic Coast Conference schedule for Syracuse basketball during the 2023-24 season was recently released, as the Orange prepares in the near future to begin its first campaign under new head coach Adrian Autry.

National and ACC pundits aren’t super high on the ‘Cuse ahead of 2023-24, and that’s somewhat understandable.

The Orange has a relatively young roster, a first-year head coach replacing the Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, question marks surrounding the center position after senior Jesse Edwards headed to West Virginia, and recent results that included missing the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two terms.

That being said, some experts of late have opined that the nation shouldn’t sleep on the ‘Cuse, and I agree with that assessment. On paper, the 2023-24 roster is an intriguing one that possesses loads of athleticism, depth and versatility. I can’t wait for hoops.

Let’s delve into the Syracuse basketball ACC docket in the upcoming season.

Tough early tests
Autry and his players won’t be able to ease into the ACC calendar. The team’s first league game is at Virginia in early December, and the Cavaliers have owned the Orange in recent years.

In late December, Syracuse basketball will host Pittsburgh. The Panthers, in the 2023 Big Dance, won two games. Then, right after the calendar turns to 2024, the ‘Cuse travels to Duke, which is the heavy favorite to capture an ACC championship in 2023-24, some experts say.

Home-and-away series are manageable
The Orange will play home-and-away series against six ACC teams, and they are Boston College, Pittsburgh, Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina and N.C. State. I believe the ‘Cuse has a good to great chance of picking up numerous victories in these series.

Favorable slate with presumed heavyweights
Per super early preseason top-25 rankings ahead of 2023-24, Duke is in the top five, while Miami and North Carolina appear in these sorts of prognostications as well. Miami made the Final Four this past spring, while the Tar Heels were supremely disappointing.

If those end up being the top-three squads in the league, Syracuse basketball only has to face the Blue Devils and the Hurricanes once, heading to Duke and hosting Miami, while playing UNC at home and on the road. That’s not awful.

At a maximum, SU plays two road contests in a row
The Orange never has to play more than two road games consecutively, although it has back-to-back road encounters on four different occasions. The ‘Cuse is at North Carolina and at Pittsburgh, which is pretty brutal.

Later on, Syracuse basketball goes to Boston College and then Wake Forest. Not awful. The same goes for at Georgia Tech followed by at N.C. State.

What I don’t love is that the Orange wraps up its 2023-24 regular season at Louisville and then at Clemson.

Speaking of Clemson and Joe Girard III
Girard, the former ‘Cuse senior guard who will play as a graduate student for the Tigers, returns to the Hill on February 10. The Orange travels to Clemson in the final regular-season game on March 5.

It will be interesting to see what kind of reception Joe gets in February when he plays at the JMA Wireless Dome. I hope that ‘Cuse fans are respectful, but candidly, I’m not holding my breath.

The initial seven-game slate is challenging
The Orange’s first seven games are at Virginia, at Duke, at North Carolina and at Pittsburgh, along with home games versus Pittsburgh, Boston College and Miami. That’s rough sledding.

Those seven affairs include four road tilts, and numerous battles against the presumed top teams in the ACC.

Two sets of home trios
In 2023-24, Syracuse basketball will have three ACC contests in a row at the Dome on two separate occasions. In January, the ‘Cuse will host Miami, Florida State and N.C. State. The following month, the Orange will welcome to town Louisville, Clemson and North Carolina.

The back-end provides opportunities
Over the last month or so of the regular season, the ‘Cuse gets Louisville, Clemson, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech at home, along with road games versus Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Louisville and Clemson.

If Syracuse basketball can “survive” the first part of its ACC calendar, there are ample chances to grab a lot of triumphs during the back-end of this docket.

Plenty of games to watch on TV
Per a recent release from SU Athletics, of the Orange’s 20 ACC contests, 11 will air on ESPN channels, six will be televised on the ACC Network, and three are scheduled for The CW Network.

Oh, and the ACC’s post-season tournament is slated for March 12-16 of 2024 in Washington, D.C., which delights me to no end, since I live nearby.

Final thoughts
Even though Miami went to the Final Four a season ago, and both Duke and North Carolina advanced to the national semifinals the stanza before that, the ACC in recent years has been “down,” by its usual standards. Duke is going to be really good. The Hurricanes and UNC eye top-25 rankings, while the rest of the ACC’s pecking order remains uncertain.

I’m so curious to see how Autry & Co. fare in actual games, and I’m cautiously optimistic that the 2023-24 Orange can return to March Madness. As I noted above, if the ‘Cuse can hold its own at the onset, I think that Syracuse basketball can position itself for, say, 11 to 13 conference conquests this coming season.