Syracuse Basketball: ACC is not getting enough respect nationally, John Wildhack says

SU athletics director John Wildhack says that Syracuse basketball and its Atlantic Coast Conference peers, in his opinion, aren’t getting enough respect on a national basis.

Speaking this week with Steve Infanti and Paulie Scibilia on their ESPN Radio Syracuse program “Orange Nation,” Wildhack discussed the ACC amid the entire collegiate hoops landscape during the 2023-24 campaign.

The regular season is winding down, and then the ACC Tournament will commence next month in Washington, D.C., before the Big Dance arrives.

Wildhack says it’s “frustrating” for the ACC and its athletic directors. “This conference is really, really good. It’s really deep,” he says.

The ‘Cuse athletics director adds that there aren’t easy wins to come by in the ACC, particularly when playing on the road. The middle of the league’s standings is a bit log-jammed, meaning that conference squads are beating up on one another, which affects teams’ NCAA NET rankings.

John Wildhack says the ACC, where Syracuse basketball is a member, should get more national attention.

Wildhack says that the ACC, as a whole, has put forth a strong non-conference record. In looking at various data points and metrics, he says, “right now the ACC is vastly underrated. … I don’t think we’re getting the respect nationally that we deserve.”

I always acknowledge that I have on Orange-colored glasses as a proud SU alum, however, I do agree with Wildhack that the ACC is underrated.

It’s true that in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll, only Duke and North Carolina are ranked, at No. 8 and No. 10, respectively, while Virginia, Pittsburgh and Clemson are in the others receiving votes category.

But I personally take the major top-25 polls with the proverbial grain of salt.

When I wrote this column, over at the Bracket Matrix Web site, North Carolina was projected as a No. 2 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, followed by Duke as a No. 3 seed, Clemson as a No. 5 seed, and Virginia as a No. 9 seed. Wake Forest and Pittsburgh were also both hovering near the bubble via the Bracket Matrix.

Syracuse basketball has work to do to realistically contend for an invite to March Madness. Recent wins at home over UNC and at N.C. State were big, although losing at Georgia Tech recently wasn’t good.

I find it hard to believe that the ACC might only get three to four teams into this spring’s Big Dance.

Plus, even as some national pundits have declared the ACC a tad weaker in recent years than this conference has historically been, the ACC does a lot of damage in the NCAA Tournament. For example:
2023, Miami went to the Final Four
2022, Duke went to the Final Four and UNC was the runner-up
2019, Virginia won the national championship
2017, North Carolina won the national championship
2016, Syracuse went to the Final Four and UNC was the runner-up
2015, Duke won the national championship

Not. Too. Shabby.

But let’s just stick to the current season. At the time of this writing, the ACC had 12 of its members in the top 100 of both the NET and KenPom’s ratings.

NET
North Carolina, No. 10
Duke, No. 16
Wake Forest, No. 26
Clemson, No. 28
Virginia, No. 48
Virginia Tech, No. 52
Pittsburgh, No. 56
Miami, No. 77
N.C. State, No. 80
Syracuse, No. 84
Boston College, No. 91
Florida State, No. 93

KenPom
North Carolina, No. 10
Duke, No. 12
Wake Forest, No. 21
Clemson, No. 32
Virginia Tech, No. 50
Pittsburgh, No. 60
Virginia, No. 66
N.C. State, No. 75
Miami, No. 78
Florida State, No. 81
Syracuse, No. 84
Boston College, No. 89

If I were a betting man, and I’m not, I would say that numerous other leagues will get more of their members into the 2024 NCAA Tournament. But don’t be surprised if the ACC has several teams journeying deep into late March or early April.