Syracuse Basketball: ‘Cuse is getting more national attention in Big Dance projections

Syracuse basketball still has plenty of work to do to fully enter the conversation for a possible invite to this spring’s NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence.

However, as the Orange was set to host fellow Atlantic Coast Conference squad Florida State on Tuesday night, the ‘Cuse is starting to receive more love from national pundits as it pertains to the 2024 Big Dance.

When the Bracket Matrix updated its aggregate bracketology projections on January 22, the Orange appeared in seven different mock fields of 68.

These projections primarily had the ‘Cuse as a No. 11 or a No. 12 seed, likely meaning a First Four appearance, although one forecast installed Syracuse basketball as a No. 9 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The Orange (13-5, 4-3 in the ACC) has won two straight, defeating Pittsburgh on the road last Tuesday before escaping Miami at home this past Saturday after sophomore wing Quadir Copeland hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Syracuse basketball has a chance to build up some big-time momentum.

On Tuesday, the Orange’s NCAA NET ranking stood at No. 68. The ‘Cuse doesn’t have any bad losses, falling to high-quality foes either on the road or at neutral sites.

The team’s recent win at Pitt, at the time of this writing, is a quadrant-one success. If Oregon moves up a few spots in the NET, that could also prove a quad-one victory for Syracuse basketball, as the 'Cuse took care of the Ducks on a neutral floor last December.

The Orange, which is undefeated at home so far in the 2023-24 campaign, hosts the Seminoles on Tuesday evening, followed by another ACC battle at the JMA Wireless Dome against N.C. State and then a road match-up with Boston College.

If the ‘Cuse can sweep those three league affairs, that would propel Syracuse basketball to 16-5 overall and 7-3 in league play. We’ll see if that transpires, but the Orange could further entrench itself in Big Dance projections should the ‘Cuse continue its current winning ways.

On Monday, The Field of 68 disclosed its bracketology forecast, placing the Orange among the first four out, along with ACC school Wake Forest, Oregon and Texas.

Also on Monday, national expert Andy Katz unveiled his latest top-36 teams in college basketball, and Syracuse basketball was No. 36. To my knowledge, it’s the first time this season, or at least in a while, that Katz has included the ‘Cuse in his “Power 36.”

Katz wrote in his piece, “The Orange had a great week getting the sweep of Pitt and beating Miami at the buzzer. The only two losses in 2024 are on the road at Duke and at North Carolina.”

As I wrote in a story on Tuesday morning, I sense that the ‘Cuse is coming together nicely as a collective unit, which is encouraging. The squad’s defense is shining, and if Syracuse basketball can make shots and limit its turnovers, this is a dangerous group.

Conversely, the Orange doesn’t have a lot of impressive triumphs to date in 2023-24. What’s more, the ACC isn’t an overly great league at this juncture in the current term, so the ‘Cuse may not have a lot of quad-one opportunities lurking on the horizon.

In any event, Syracuse basketball is playing well these days, and if the Orange can keep on racking up wins, the ‘Cuse will be firmly in the mix for a berth in the 2024 March Madness.