Syracuse Basketball: 'Cuse not included in NIT as 2023-24 season ends for the Orange

The Syracuse basketball 2023-24 season is over.

The Orange was not included in the 2024 NIT, as the 32-team field was released on Sunday night, and the 'Cuse wasn't among those listed in the tournament. I've reached out to a Syracuse basketball spokesperson to see if the Orange declined to participate, or if the 'Cuse simply wasn't selected.

If it turns out that Syracuse basketball wasn't picked for the NIT, I'm more than a little surprised. In recent days, multiple bracketology projections had the Orange in the 2024 NIT field, with one expert saying that the 'Cuse had a 100 percent probability to get invited to this annual event.

Last Wednesday evening, Syracuse basketball (20-12, 11-9 in the ACC) fell in the ACC Tournament's second round. The Orange, as the No. 7 seed, lost by 18 points to the No. 10 seed N.C. State. The Wolfpack ended up winning five games in five days in Washington, D.C., to claim the ACC Tournament title and earn the league's automatic bid to this spring's Big Dance.

Syracuse basketball will not compete in the 2024 NIT.

On Sunday night, five Atlantic Coast Conference squads made the 2024 NCAA Tournament - North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Virginia and N.C. State.

Additionally, three ACC schools were selected for the 2024 NIT. They are Boston College, Wake Forest, a No. 1 seed, and Virginia Tech, a No. 3 seed. Boston College will play Providence, a No. 3 seed, Wake Forest will face Appalachian State, and Virginia Tech will play Richmond.

The NIT field was announced on ESPN2. The broadcast showed a graphic that included various programs that declined to participate in the 2024 NIT, including Pittsburgh, St. John's, Oklahoma, Memphis, Ole Miss and Indiana.

The four No. 1 seeds in the NIT are Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Indiana State and Villanova. Other teams that were selected for the upcoming NIT to note here are LSU, a No. 4 seed, and Cornell.

In the non-conference portion of the 2023-24 stanza, the Orange beat both LSU and Cornell at home.

As I noted in a column on Sunday, the transfer portal opens on Monday, March 18, and runs for 45 days before closing on Wednesday, May 1.

A lot of 'Cuse fans commented on social media in recent days that they felt it would make more sense for Syracuse basketball to decline to play in the NIT and focus on developments in the portal, whether that's potentially current players departing or mining for guys to bring into the program for next season.

It's unclear to me whether the Orange might have declined to participate in the NIT, or if the 'Cuse merely wasn't selected. If it is the case that Syracuse basketball wasn't chosen for the 32-team field, that's surprising to me.

While it was a bummer that Syracuse basketball wasn't able to go on a run in the ACC Tournament, the Orange, under first-year head coach Adrian Autry, did win 20 regular-season games for the first time in a decade.