It’s not even Christmas yet, and the conference season is still a few weeks away. Trying to figure out where Syracuse will land in the 2019 NCAA Tournament is fairly absurd. But in looking at bracketology, it can give us a decent view of where the Orange compare to other power teams through the first 10 games of the season.
Right now Syracuse is 7-2 and ranked at #25 after five straight wins. The victories have followed the disappointing effort at MSG back in November when the Orange lost to UConn and #13 Oregon. But the surprising win over Ohio State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and an upcoming date against #14 Buffalo can neutralize the effect of the loss to the Ducks and Huskies.
At the moment Joe Lunardi has the Orange as a 7-seed, facing off against 10-seed Florida in the first round (Columbus). Obviously looking at specific opponents and sites are silly, but that SU is right now on the 7-seed line is intriguing. The other 7-seeds are #21 Marquette, #24 Kansas State and #25 (tied) Houston.
Syracuse will have plenty of chances to improve their resume against strong foes in the conference season. Right now Duke, FSU, UNC, Virginia, and Virginia Tech are all ranked ahead of the Orange and NC State is receiving votes. If we spin it even further, March Madness Betting says Duke is the favorites right now to win the title at +445. The Orange will have a chance at the Blue Devils at what is guaranteed to be an insane Carrier Dome crowd in late February for a resume-defining win.
Right now it’s worth looking at the bracketology field to see where the SU resume stacks up, and considering the Orange suffered two disappointing losses already, being a 7-seed looks to be appropriate respect from one of the nation’s college hoops voices.
