After hiring head coach Gerry McNamara this offseason and reshaping the roster through the transfer portal, it’s clear that the Syracuse men’s basketball program is on the right track back toward competitiveness.
However, the national pundits don’t think they’ve improved enough yet.
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On Tuesday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the most decorated “bracketologist” out there, released a “way too early bracketology” for the 2026-27 season, and Syracuse was nowhere to be found. This is consistent with his very first “bracketology” projection, which came on July 15.
The Orange haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since the 2020-21 season.
What’s extra disappointing about Lunardi’s projections is that there are additional chances to make the NCAA Tournament this year as the tournament is expanding from 68 to 76 teams.
Seven.
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Duke (No. 1 seed)
NC State (No. 11 seed)
North Carolina (No. 8 seed)
Miami (No. 7 seed)
Virginia (No. 3 seed)
Louisville (No. 2 seed)
Clemson (No. 10 seed)
Not only does Lunardi not have the Orange in the Field of 76, he also doesn’t them as any of the eight teams he included as being close to the tournament field.
However, he had SMU, Virginia Tech and Florida State in that group, meaning he doesn’t even see Syracuse as one of the Top 10 teams in the ACC this year.
That seems like it would be a disappointment for McNamara’s group, which has worked hard to bring in positional depth and roster balance.
Syracuse Orange forward Kiyan Anthony (7) shoots as North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) defends in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
According to original reporting from Pete Thamel of ESPN, there will be eight new teams added to the tournament, bumping the field from 68 to 76 teams as we said. The previously named “First Four” will expand to 12 games, featuring 24 teams in action before the first Thursday of the tournament.
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Those 12 winners will advance into the traditional tournament bracket, giving us the 64 teams that we are accustomed to on the first Thursday of the event.
Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports added that six of these “First 12” games will feature at-large teams, while six will feature automatic qualifiers.
For the basic math of it all:
76 teams in the tournament
24 teams playing in the “First 12”
52 teams not playing in the “First 12”
12 winners from the “First 12” + 52 teams = 64 teams on start of Thursday
Syracuse will open up the campaign on Nov. 2 at home against New Haven. They will play a challenging non-conference schedule that includes Indiana, Providence, St. John’s and Oklahoma.
