Syracuse Basketball: ‘Cuse poised for bounce-back season, per Andy Katz

College hoops insider Andy Katz believes that Syracuse basketball is primed for a bounce-back season.

The Orange’s 2023-24 campaign gets underway in early November, with first-year head coach Adrian Autry taking the helm from Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim. Autry’s roster this upcoming stanza, which includes 13 scholarship players, is filled with athleticism, depth and versatility.

Over the past two years, under Boeheim, the ‘Cuse went 33-32 overall, missing the NCAA Tournament in both seasons. In 2022-23, Syracuse basketball went 17-15, although that record included numerous close setbacks.

As we look ahead to 2023-24, preseason prognostications regarding the Orange appear mixed. Some experts are projecting the ‘Cuse to finish high up in the Atlantic Coast Conference pecking order, while others predict Syracuse basketball to be in the bottom third of the league standings.

National pundit Andy Katz provides some optimism on Syracuse basketball in 2023-24.

Given that Syracuse basketball has a first-year head coach who replaced a legend, the Orange hasn’t made the Big Dance since 2021, and this off-season the ‘Cuse experienced a sizable roster makeover, Syracuse basketball isn’t likely to find itself in preseason top-25 rankings or super early bracketology forecasts.

Nonetheless, Katz has anointed the Orange as one of his bounce-back groups in 2023-24, and other pundits have advised the country to not sleep on the ‘Cuse in the upcoming campaign.

https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1712931290570260943

By the way, Katz’s list of his top-10 bounce-back teams, which was posted on X, includes a variety of traditional big-time programs. The top 10 consists of St. John’s, Villanova, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Dayton, Oregon, Colorado, Syracuse, Texas Tech and New Mexico.

I went on record not too long ago in predicting that the ‘Cuse will finish in the top six of the ACC in 2023-24, and that the Orange will return to March Madness.

The team’s non-conference docket poses some challenges, without question. The 20-game conference calendar for Syracuse basketball, to me, is somewhat favorable, although that’s purely speculation on my part.

I can’t wait for hoops to begin. None of us knows how the ‘Cuse is going to fare with Autry at the helm. I love Jim Boeheim. Always have, always will. But I’m pumped for the Autry era.

The Orange head coach and his assistants have a lot of intriguing line-up combinations at their disposal in 2023-24. Autry has said he will utilize a lot of man-to-man defense this coming season, while playing at an up-tempo pace.

Whether or not Syracuse basketball gets back to the NCAA Tournament in the spring of 2024 remains to be seen. This ‘Cuse roster, though, will prove fun to watch. And I agree with Katz that the Orange is positioned for a bounce-back season.