Okay, I'm the first to admit that bracketology projections for the 2027 NCAA Tournament, at this juncture in time, are rather silly, because the 2026-27 season doesn't start for months, and the next Big Dance is nearly a year away.
Still, mock brackets are fun to debate, especially when they come from every Syracuse basketball fan's favorite bracketologist, ESPN's Joe Lunardi.
On Wednesday, Lunardi published a ridiculous early mock field of 68 for the 2027 March Madness. Did the Orange make the cut? Nope. Is that a surprise? Nope, nope. Should we get all upset about SU not being included in Joey Brackets' list on Wednesday? Nope, nope and nope.
https://t.co/guOIkbAd1Y. 🏀🏀 A resounding championship run by Michigan is in the books, and with it, the end of a 26-year national title drought for the Big Ten. Now that the deadline for players to enter the transfer portal has passed, we can tentatively look ahead to the…
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) April 22, 2026
Hey, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein seems somewhat bullish on the Orange's prospects for 2026-27 under first-year head coach Gerry McNamara. So there's that.
Syracuse basketball opponents that are in Joe Lunardi's bracketology projections.
The 'Cuse went 15-17 overall in 2025-26, its second straight losing season. The Orange hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2021.
While SU's 2026-27 schedule isn't yet out, we do know a couple of non-conference foes. Plus, several Atlantic Coast Conference squads are included in Lunardi's forecast. Have a look.
ACC teams (six teams)
No. 1 seed Duke
No. 3 seed Louisville
No. 3 seed Virginia
No. 6 seed Miami
No. 7 seed North Carolina
No. 10 seed N.C. State
***Clemson and SMU are in Lunardi's next four out***
Non-conference opponents
No. 7 seed Indiana
***Providence is among Lunardi's first four out***
The 'Cuse will face the Hoosiers out of the Big Ten Conference on November 9 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, as first reported by Rothstein. Syracuse basketball will play the Friars, out of the Big East Conference, at the TD Garden in Boston, with the date yet to be publicly announced.
It's also likely that the Orange will get a game in the ACC/SEC Challenge. In 2025-26, SU upset then-No. 13 Tennessee, 62-60, at the JMA Wireless Dome in early December as part of the annual event.
Lunardi has 12 teams from the Southeastern Conference in his mock bracket from Wednesday morning, so it's entirely possible that the 'Cuse will suit up against a quality foe in this season's ACC/SEC Challenge.
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