Syracuse men’s basketball: Media members pick Orange to finish eighth in ACC

Once ACC Media Day wraps up, the last bit of business to settle are the projected standings, as voted on by media attendees. On Thursday, those arrived, with the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team slated eighth.

Syracuse finished just five points behind Notre Dame for seventh, though over 100 points behind NC State in sixth. There was a significant gap between SU in eighth and Miami in ninth as well.

The Orange finished sixth in the league last year with a 10-8 record, but also lose most of last year’s offensive firepower and probably still need some time to develop within the program’s signature 2-3 zone. While eighth place sounds low, it’s not that rare for ‘Cuse to wind up in this area since joining the ACC. They were 11th in 2018, eighth in 2017 and ninth in 2016. There are various reasons for this downturn that we don’t have to get into now.

As part of the ACC schedule, Syracuse faces the other 14 programs at least once this season. They’ll also get two against Notre Dame, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Virginia Tech. Those teams were projected to finish seventh, 10th, 12th, 13th and 14th this year, respectively — so if you’re looking for one way SU can outplay the No. 8 projection, that’s certainly one of them.

No Orange players were picked for all-conference honors early. Not necessarily a shock there.

How do we feel about the prediction? It’s probably fine in my book. But perhaps you disagree. Bring hellfire or reasonable opinions below; whichever float your boat.