Syracuse appears to be starting the upcoming year right in the middle of the ACC pack.
A new Syracuse Orange men’s basketball year is looming, and this week fans are starting to get a better sense of where the program ranks heading into the upcoming 2024-25 season.
Both KenPom and EvanMiya unveiled their preseason projections on Monday, both of which saw Syracuse start off as a top-70 team sitting right in the middle of a crowded ACC. Likewise, other outlets also released their predictions for this year’s ACC which now included three new programs — Cal, Stanford and SMU.
With the preseason winding down, here is an updated look at where all these rankings and projections have the Orange at heading into 2024-25:
KenPom
Syracuse will begin the new year ranked No. 68 overall according to KenPom. That includes being No. 42 in adjusted offensive efficiency (7th in ACC) and No. 96 in adjusted defensive efficiency (14th in ACC). Overall, KenPom places the Orange as one of 12 ACC teams ranked top-75 overall heading into the season.
The dominant story the KenPom numbers are telling: including Syracuse, the middle of the ACC will be wild and unpredictable. After the top-three of Duke, North Carolina and Clemson, the Orange as well as nine additional teams rank between No. 35 and No. 80 per KenPom.
Bart Torvik
The most updated Bart Torvik rankings feel pretty similarly about the Orange as the rest of the advanced preseason projections. Syracuse ranks No. 72 overall, which is good for No. 12 in the conference. That included ranking No. 57 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 97 in adjusted defensive efficiency.
EvanMiya
Of the three advanced analytics sites, EvanMiya has Syracuse ranked the highest. The Orange are currently sitting at 11th in the ACC but No. 61 overall according to EvanMiya.
Once again, Syracuse’s projected offensive rating is better than its defensive rating. The Orange rank No. 53 on offense compared to No. 80 on defense.
One interesting note: EvanMiya includes a “roster rank” stat which is based on the overall strength of a team based collectively on individual Bayesian Performance Ratings (BPR), a metric commonly used by EvanMiya to broadly measure player production and efficiency. Syracuse ranks No. 52 overall in roster rank, which is good for 9th in the ACC.
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CBS Sports
Gary Parrish and a group of six other contributors for CBS Sports picked the Orange to finish 12th in the ACC this year.
Matt Norlander and David Cobb both had the Orange 9th in the conference, tied for the highest ranking the program received in the exercise. Two other contributors (Kyle Boone and Isaac Trotter) had the Orange at 11th. Jerry Palm (12th), Gary Parrish (13th) and Cameron Salerno (15th) all picked Syracuse to be in the bottom-third of the conference.
Andy Katz
Katz’s newest preseason Power 37 rankings, which was unveiled Monday, has Syracuse just on the outside looking in. The Orange were the second team named as “under consideration.”
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated had Syracuse finishing 10th in the ACC. Their thoughts on the Orange in 2024-25 can be boiled down to this analysis:
“The opportunity is there for the Orange to break through and get back in the Dance, but it will require avoiding some of the letdowns that plagued them from building any real momentum a year ago,” SI wrote.
The clear main takeaway: Syracuse will begin the preseason facing an uphill climb to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2020-21. A revamped roster with experience gives Syracuse a solid floor to work with, but with how packed the middle of the ACC is particularly this year, any conference win will be huge for the resume, but any really disastrous loss that isn’t against a Duke or UNC could come back to haunt the Orange on Selection Sunday.
Now it’s your turn: what are your takeaways from the Orange’s most updated preseason projections for the upcoming year?