Early prognostications from national experts seem to suggest that the two best teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the upcoming 2025-26 season could be Duke and Louisville. Syracuse basketball will play both the Blue Devils and Cardinals on the road in the upcoming term.
The ACC revealed the 18-game league schedule for every member school on Wednesday, including the Orange. The ACC has reduced its conference slate by two games, while Syracuse basketball and its league peers will move from 11 to 13 non-conference contests in 2025-26.
The 'Cuse 18-game ACC calendar features two home-and-home series, seven additional home encounters and seven more road contests. In 2025-26, Syracuse basketball will not face Stanford.
The Orange's two home-and-home pairings are with traditional rival Pittsburgh, along with North Carolina, which lost in the 2025 NCAA Tournament's round of 64.
Here are the other Atlantic Coast Conference foes for Syracuse basketball.
At home, the Orange will also host California, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, SMU and Virginia Tech. The 'Cuse, additionally, will travel to Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, N.C. State, Virginia and Wake Forest.
In the 2025 Big Dance, only four ACC squads made the NCAA Tournament. Duke reached the Final Four. The aforementioned Tar Heels, Clemson and Louisville all fell in the round of 64.
By the way, the dates, times and television information for the Orange's ACC games in 2025-26 will be announced in September, according to the league's press release from Wednesday.
The latest preseason top 45 from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports has Duke at No. 9, Louisville at No. 16, North Carolina at No. 27, N.C. State at No. 28 and Miami at No. 29. Syracuse basketball was not part of Rothstein's list.
The latest preseason top 25 and 1 from Gary Parrish of CBS Sports puts Duke at No. 9 and Louisville at No. 14. A few days ago, James Fletcher III of On3 disclosed his most recent preseason top 25. He's placed Duke at No. 3, Louisville at No. 12 and North Carolina at No. 24.
Without question, the ACC has been down in recent years. Yes, the league has seen some of its schools go on deep runs in March Madness, but the number of ACC members annually making the NCAA Tournament in recent seasons pales in comparision to other power conferences.
The Orange has missed the Big Dance on four straight occasions.