We’re about one month away from the official start of the Syracuse basketball 2023-24 season, and I can’t freaking wait to get things going in hoops.
Long-time assistant Adrian Autry will be in his first year as the Orange’s head coach, after he replaced the legendary Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, who retired this past March. As an SU alumnus for more than two decades, it’s gonna be a little weird to me to not see Boeheim roaming the sidelines, but I’m excited for the Autry era to get underway.
Prognostications from national and Atlantic Coast Conference pundits aren’t super high on the ‘Cuse ahead of 2023-24, and that’s all good. I like it when Syracuse basketball flies under the radar a bit.
Plus, the team does have a new head coach, its starting center, an All-ACC performer last season, is gone, there are a lot of new faces on the 2023-24 roster, the Orange has a ton of underclassmen, and Syracuse basketball hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two stanzas.
Still, the Orange’s 2023-24 line-up appears loaded with athleticism, depth and versatility. The non-conference portion of the 2023-24 docket looks fairly tough, but I do think, at least on paper, the ACC schedule is relatively manageable.
Here’s my forecast for Syracuse basketball during the upcoming term.
•New Hampshire at the Dome on November 6
My prediction: Win
•Canisius at the Dome on November 8
My prediction: Win
•Colgate at the Dome on November 14
My prediction: Win
•Tennessee at the 2023 Maui Jim Maui Invitational in Honolulu on November 20
My prediction: Win
•Purdue or Gonzaga at the Maui Invitational on November 21
My prediction: Loss
•Kansas, Chaminade, UCLA or Marquette at the Maui Invitational on November 22
My prediction: Loss (*I’m assuming that SU will play either Kansas, UCLA or Marquette)
•LSU at the Dome on November 28 (ACC/SEC Challenge)
My prediction: Win
•At Virginia on December 2
My prediction: Loss
•Cornell at the Dome on December 5
My prediction: Win
•At Georgetown on December 9
My prediction: Win
•Oregon in Sioux Falls, S.D., on December 17
My prediction: Win
•Niagara at the Dome on December 21
My prediction: Win
•Pittsburgh at the Dome on December 30
My prediction: Win
•At Duke on January 2
My prediction: Loss
•Boston College at the Dome on January 10
My prediction: Win
•At North Carolina on January 13
My prediction: Loss
•At Pittsburgh on January 16
My prediction: Loss
•Miami at the Dome on January 20
My prediction: Win
•Florida State at the Dome on January 23
My prediction: Win
•N.C. State at the Dome on January 27
My prediction: Win
•At Boston College on January 30
My prediction: Win
•At Wake Forest on February 3
My prediction: Loss
•Louisville at the Dome on February 7
My prediction: Win
•Clemson at the Dome on February 10
My prediction: Win
•North Carolina at the Dome on February 13
My prediction: Win
•At Georgia Tech on February 17
My prediction: Win
•At N.C. State on February 20
My prediction: Loss
•Notre Dame at the Dome on February 24
My prediction: Win
•Virginia Tech at the Dome on February 27
My prediction: Win
•At Louisville on March 2
My prediction: Win
•At Clemson on March 5
My prediction: Loss
*The ACC post-season tournament is scheduled for March 12 to March 16 in Washington, D.C.*
Non-conference record: 9-2
ACC record: 13-7
Overall regular-season record: 22-9
Seed in ACC Tournament: No. 6
Results in ACC Tournament: 1-1
Seed in NCAA Tournament: No. 8
Results in NCAA Tournament: 1-1
Final overall record: 24-11
Final ranking in top-25 polls: No. 23
Okay, how did I do? Reasonable projections or way off?? What do you think will be the Orange’s final record in 2023-24???