Syracuse Basketball: ACC Tournament seeding and match-up scenarios for the Orange

Syracuse basketball has completed its 2023-24 regular season, while other Atlantic Coast Conference squads still have games left prior to the league’s post-season tournament getting underway.

The Orange, after falling at Clemson by 15 points this past Tuesday night, finished the 2023-24 regular season at 20-11 overall and 11-9 in conference contests.

The 2024 ACC Tournament, which will take place at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., starts first-round action on Tuesday, March 12.

The ‘Cuse won’t know its exact seeding in the ACC Tournament until league games occur this coming Saturday, although Syracuse basketball can finish no worse than No. 7 in the conference standings.

Considering that in the ACC’s preseason media poll, the Orange was picked to reside at No. 10 in the league’s pecking order, I’ve gone on record in stating that first-year head coach Adrian Autry has done a remarkable job in his inaugural stanza leading the program.

Here are ACC Tournament seeding scenarios for Syracuse basketball.

Okay, here’s the deal. The Orange is going to end up as either the No. 5 seed, the No. 6 seed or the No. 7 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.

The two regular-season games that ‘Cuse fans want to monitor this Saturday night involve Pittsburgh and Wake Forest.

The Panthers (11-8 in the ACC) host N.C. State, while the Demon Deacons (10-9 in the ACC) will host Clemson.

Syracuse basketball swept its regular-season series with Pittsburgh. The Orange only played Wake Forest once in 2023-24, falling to the Demon Deacons on the road.

Should both Pittsburgh and Wake Forest win on Saturday evening, the ‘Cuse would be the No. 7 seed in the ACC Tournament. If either the Panthers or Wake Forest prevail, but the other loses, the Orange will be the No. 6 seed.

Should both Pitt and the Demon Deacons lose their respect contests on Saturday, Syracuse basketball would end up as the No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament.

No matter what seed the Orange ultimately has, its first game in the ACC Tournament will be on Wednesday, March 13, in the event’s second round.

Here are the match-ups:
No. 5 seed versus No. 12 seed/No. 13 seed, 2:30 pm
No. 6 seed versus No. 11 seed/No. 14 seed, 9:30 pm
No. 7 seed versus No. 10 seed/No. 15 seed, 7:00 pm

The ACC Tournament quarterfinals will be on Thursday, followed by the semifinals on Friday and the championship game on Saturday night.

The chatter among national pundits and some bracketologists is that Syracuse basketball likely has to win the upcoming ACC Tournament to hear its name called on Selection Sunday following a two-year absence from March Madness.