Until the mass player movement officially subsides, it seems premature to make any predictions about what next season will look like for Syracuse Orange men's and women's basketball. That being said, ESPN released the latest update to Bracketology this week, and both Syracuse basketball programs are in an interesting spot.
Starting on the men's side, Syracuse is currently scheduled as the first “Next Four Out” team in ESPN's latest bracket update. The Orange are currently not one of the seven ACC teams expected to play in the tournament, but according to everyone's favorite bracketologist Joe Lunardi, they are the next program from the conference is listed in the bid as
The Orange enter the 2024-25 season after a rough but generally successful first year under coach Adrian Autry. However, the program failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament again last season, extending its postseason drought to a third consecutive year. The combination of an optimistic 2023-24 campaign and a big-picture hunger for tangible progress among fans will only add a little more pressure back into March Madness.
In the ACC, Duke (No. 1 seed) and North Carolina (No. 2 seed) are clearly ranked ahead of the rest of the tournament's scheduled teams, followed by Miami (No. 6 seed) and Clemson (No. 9 seed). . As a “Next Four Out” team, Syracuse sits on the bubble just behind Pittsburgh (“Last 4 Bye”), Wake Forest (“Last 4 Bye”) and North Carolina State (“Last 4 In”).
If Syracuse stays within this projection by October, compared to last season, when the Orange started well outside of postseason prospects and eventually rose to “in position” status. It would definitely be a better starting point. Still, it felt like Syracuse still had some work to do, and a heartbreaking loss to North Carolina State in the ACC Tournament quickly ended any hopes of making it to the tournament.
It's a great position for Autry and the program, especially considering the mass exodus of players from last season's team. All-ACC guard Judah Mintz has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft, and seven more players have entered the transfer portal, led by Malik Brown and Quadir Copeland.
Still, it seems like there is Several There is optimism in the Autry building. The soon-to-be second-year head coach brought in three new players in this year's portal, securing commitments from five-star prospect Donnie Freeman and four-star prospect Elijah Moore.
Autry may still have some work to do, but after a busy offseason, this latest bracketology update feels like a small step forward.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the women's team…at least for now.
In ESPN's latest bracketology update for the women's NCAA Tournament, Syracuse remains completely left out of the postseason picture. This is a very important development for the Orange, especially after a season in which coach Felisha Leggett-Jacques won ACC Coach of the Year and led the program to one of the most surprising 2023-24 seasons in the nation. It is about.
Nine ACC teams are projected to play in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, according to the latest information from Bracketology. Currently, four of his programs in the conference are in the top 16 seeds. They are Notre Dame (1 seed), North Carolina State (2 seed), Duke University (3 seed), and Louisville (3 seed). North Carolina (No. 5 seed) and Florida State (No. 5 seed) both finish in the top 25, with Stanford (No. 10 seed), Clemson (“Last 4”) and Miami (“Last 4”) finishing in the top 25. Concludes the results. .
Part of the reason for that is the Orange's significant departures this offseason. All-American and All-ACC guard Daisha Fair departed for the Las Vegas Aces, and the program saw five more departures (most notably All-ACC Freshman Team forward Alyssa Latham). lost to the portal). While Syracuse has acquired some promising players and secured returns from Dominic Camp and Isabelle Varejean, the Orange haven't done much in terms of transfer portal acquisitions yet.
Once again, the ACC plans for next season to be a year where the conference boasts depth across the board. Last season, Syracuse was projected to finish ninth in the ACC, but ended up tied for second in the final conference regular season standings. How much did this forecast factor in a potential pullback from the oranges? It's hard to say, but it certainly played a role at least.
Again, it's still too early to put much information into this. However, it's at least an offseason storyline worth monitoring.