Insider assesses Syracuse basketball's place in the ACC. Here's why he's spot on.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports has Syracuse in the No. 9 position within the Atlantic Coast Conference ahead of the 2025-26 season, according to his recently published ACC offseason breakdown.

I think Rothstein's assessment is spot on.

First, here is Rothstein's full pecking order of the 18-member ACC:
1. Duke
2. Louisville
3. North Carolina
4. N.C. State
5. Miami
6. Virginia
7. Notre Dame
8. SMU
9. Syracuse
10. Clemson
11. Pittsburgh
12. Georgia Tech
13. Wake Forest
14. Virginia Tech
15. Stanford
16. California
17. Boston College
18. Florida State

I'm curious what my fellow Orange fans think about Rothstein's preseason ACC power rankings. The top three of Duke, Louisville and North Carolina are logical. I'm not sure I'd have N.C. State and Miami as high as Rothstein does, but that's splitting hairs.

Okay, let's get to the 'Cuse.

Syracuse basketball, on paper, looks like a middle-of-the-pack ACC team.

The Orange, in 2025-26, enters year three under Adrian Autry as the program's head coach. The squad has missed the NCAA Tournament for four straight seasons. If Syracuse basketball doesn't contend for a Big Dance berth come next spring, more and more fans are going to call for a new head coach.

That's fair.

Last season, the Orange went 14-19 overall, its worst record in decades. Yet to me, the team's 13-member roster for 2025-26 - again, on paper - looks promising. Syracuse basketball finished No. 14 in the ACC in 2024-25, and I am cautiously optimistic that the 'Cuse will fare better in the upcoming campaign.

If this roster comes together as I believe it can, I'd contend that Syracuse basketball could boast a top-six finish in the ACC. However, given what happened a term ago, and in other recent years, I agree with Rothstein in putting the 'Cuse at No. 9, the mid-way point of the league's standings.

What makes the Orange's 2025-26 roster so challenging to assess, at least in preseason prognostications, is the fact that the 'Cuse line-up possesses so many new faces. Only guard J.J. Starling and power forward Donnie Freeman return from 2024-25, and both missed time last season due to injuries.

Syracuse basketball has a five-member prep class that is in the top 15 nationally. The Orange's six-member transfer class, by extension, includes several four-star prospects.

There's talent on this roster. But it's highly unproven talent. That's why having Syracuse basketball forecast as a middle-of-the-pack ACC squad is understandable, with the caveat that the 'Cuse has plenty of room to further move up.