College Basketball

Only Way Syracuse Basketball Makes It In Tournament Is Winning ACC

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:00 a.m. ET

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Fansided, Paul A. Esden Jr./FanSided via Inside the Loud House

The Syracuse basketball team is out of options after their seventh road loss of the season to Notre Dame. Only one option remains on the table.

Syracuse basketball has put itself in a hole. A hole that only has one option left of escaping. Win the ACC tournament and punch your ticket to the dance.

Outside of that, there’s no viable realistic way for SU to get into the tournament. Lets start off with what SU doesn’t have: any road wins (0-7), any quality non-conference wins, and any skins on the wall this season.

They have only one opportunity left where they can hit two birds with one stone and that’s at Louisville. But lets be honest, that’s not going to be good enough.

Joe Lunardi the ESPN Bracketologist expert has already made it well known that he doesn’t think SU is making it.

Although last year he said this…

So Lunardi has been wrong in the past. But something he mentioned that should be underlying this season, SU was helped by the Boeheim 9-game suspension. How much? Who knows. But it helped, it also helped to get those two non-conference wins in the Battle for Atlantis tournament.

They don’t have any of those luxuries this season. SU has been marred by inconsistency, bad point guard play, hands down on defense, new players not adapting, lack of supporting cast (in terms of stepping up, not talent).

While technically the schedule has multiple home opportunities to turn the season around: Florida State, Duke, Louisville (twice), and Virginia. But again injecting a dose of reality, the Orange have shown nothing to say that they could go on that type of run.

Heck the way SU has been going it may miss the NIT. But lets try and stay as positive as possible here, there is a chance and a path to get into the dance. It won’t be easy.

The Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament is the golden ticket to get into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Barclays Center March 7-11, 2017.

15 teams will take to the hardwood for five action packed days, concluding the day before NCAA Selection Sunday with a fight for the ACC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That last bit is most important. “An automatic bid into the dance.”

So I heard this example from my colleague, Bud Poliquin of Syracuse.com, albeit an extreme example. It proves a valid point here with SU’s chances. It’s possible, although unlikely, but possible that a team could go through the regular season and end with an 0-30 record.

Then said team could go into the ACC tournament, win-out, five games in five days, and BOOM you’re automatically in tournament. With a healthy 5-30 record and people in Central New York suggest that making the tournament is a victory unto itself.

Although we can get into that argument later, the point is, Jim Boeheim might be right. A couple weeks ago he said the regular season is essentially meaningless. It’s window dressing for the tournament.

Although the Syracuse basketball team did display a lot of heart in their last contest against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. While a very solid win (top-25 RPI), the real test will be against the elite-of-elite in Florida State.

Although the only real path outside of a crazy run against this schedule is an even crazier run in the ACC tournament. It’ll be a difficult ask where they’ll have to go through: North Carolina, Dukes, Louisville, Virginia, etc. While difficult, the only realistic way they can get in with the blemishes already on their tournament resume.

With the ACC automatic bid, it won’t matter what blemishes they’ve because win and you’re in. Pretty simple, no bubble busting watching on Selection Sunday. They’ll have their fates in their hands and that’s all you can ask for.

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