Will the NCAA’s NET rating help or hurt Syracuse men’s basketball?

It’s still fairly early in the 2018-19 college basketball season, yet we’ve already established that the NCAA’s new “NET” rating is a bad metric, and it could very likely stay that way over the course of the season.

Depending on how much of a role it plays in the selection process, that could be a major issue for the entire sport. But what we really care about is how it affects the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team come NCAA Tournament selection time.

Syracuse.com’s Donna Ditota broke down NET a bit on Thursday, looking at what impact it has on the “Quadrant” nonsense that the NCAA instituted last year. Thus far, we’re 1-0 in Quad 1 (at Ohio State), 0-2 in Quad 2 and 2-0 in Quad 3 (Colgate, Northeastern). Far from a glowing resume, though Donna also points out we have another 11 Quad 1 games on the schedule. Contests like that were a big part of what got us into the NCAAs last year. Hopefully there’s no bubble conversation this time around, however...

More on that, and the rest of your Syracuse-related links, below:

How NCAA’s new NET rankings affect Syracuse basketball’s tournament hopes (Syracuse.com)

Of its remaining non-conference opponents, the most valuable from a NET perspective, is Buffalo. The unbeaten Bulls rank 12 in the NET. Of their eight wins, four have come on the road or at neutral sites. If Syracuse beats Buffalo in the Carrier Dome on Dec. 18, it can claim a Quadrant 1 win.

2019 center Qudus Wahab sets date for college decision; Syracuse among 5 finalists (Syracuse.com)

Qudus Wahab, a 6-10 senior at the Flint School in Oakton, Va., and a top prospect in the 2019 recruiting class has set a date for his college decision. Wahab will announce his college choice on Thursday, Dec. 13, according to several reports. Wahab has narrowed his list to five schools, including Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Connecticut.

Coach Patrick Ewing “Definitely” Wants Georgetown - Syracuse Series To Continue (Casual Hoya)

So, does coach Ewing want Georgetown - Syracuse to continue? “Definitely,” Ewing said on Wednesday during a media availability. “I think it’s good for both universities. We’ve had a lot of battles over the years when they were in the BIG EAST and I think it’s good for both universities to continue.”

The case for starting Oshae Brissett at center (Daily Orange)

A Brissett-Dolezaj-Elijah Hughes starting three trio at the center/forward positions could strengthen the Orange’s backline and create a faster, more dynamic offense. SU head coach Jim Boeheim said Chukwu got “absolutely destroyed” against the Connecticut bigs, whose 6-foot-9 forward Eric Cobb shoved him around for 13 points and 13 boards.

The Athletic’s 2018 college football Freshman All-America team (The Athletic)

S Andre Cisco, Syracuse: Cisco joined teammate Andre Szmyt as the only two freshmen named first-team All-ACC. He is tied for the national lead with seven interceptions and has added 11 pass breakups with 51 tackles.

SI’s 2018 College Football All-America Team (SI.com)

Tyus Battle’s altered shot ‘was always fine’ amid his early-season struggles (Daily Orange)

Syracuse equipped to squeeze WVU with its defense (EerSports)

Numbers show Syracuse offense isn’t as bad as it seems (Syracuse.com)

Buchanan, Miller Earn All-Region Honors (Cuse.com)