Syracuse basketball a No. 9 seed in updated ESPN bracketology

After entering Joe Lunardi's bracketology rankings last week as a No. 10 seed, the Syracuse Orange have moved up to the No. 9 seed in this week's rendition of bracketology. This is a nice sign for the Orange as they look to boost their resume with a non-conference win over Georgetown this Saturday.

In this current bracket-prediction, Syracuse would face the eighth-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers who currently sit at 9-3 with their "marquee" win being over Alabama. The Golden Gophers are led by Jordan Murphy, a 6'6" junior who has dominated thus far with averages of 20.3 points and 13 rebounds per game.

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The Golden Gophers have four players averaging double figures in scoring, so having an active 2-3 zone will be a necessity to move on to likely face top-seeded Villanova in the top half of the East bracket Lunardi projects.

The Orange have split the lifetime series against the Golden Gophers, with each team winning one of their two meetings. A matchup against Villanova would bring back a Big East rivalry, with the Orange winning 39 of the 72 games between the schools thus far. Villanova is a powerhouse to be reckoned with, but why can't Syracuse be the team to knock them out in the second round this time?

It's always nice to get national recognition, but the Orange need to maintain this recent success if they want to remain a talking point in this very early NCAA Tourney conversation. A win against Georgetown will help continue that trend.