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After going 15-17 last season under previous head coach Adrian Autry, the assumption is that the Syracuse men’s basketball team will be better in 2026-27.
For starters, the conference schedule is fairly advantageous, but there are other reasons for optimism as well: Gerry McNamara seems to be a very capable head coach based upon his time at Siena, and he has inherent knowledge of Syracuse through his time as a player and an assistant coach.
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And despite the Orange losing the likes of Donnie Freeman and Naithan George (transfer), as well as William Kyle, JJ Starling and Nate Kingz (graduation), McNamara and his staff have brought in a solid group of transfer portal players to pair with returners Sadiq White Jr. and Kiyan Anthony
There’s particular excitement about Fulton, N.Y. native Gavin Doty, who follows McNamara from Siena to Syracuse on the heels of a trip to the NCAA Tournament with the Saints.
But regardless of how much optimism there is, SU fans got a reality check on Tuesday when ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his first edition of ‘bracketology’ ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Yes, we are still 3.5 months away from the first tip-off of the season, but it’s always fun to see how your team fits into the national picture. That said, Lunardi doesn’t think that Syracuse does.
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Not only did he not pick the Orange to advance to the newly-formed 76-team tournament, he also doesn’t have them as any of the last eight teams that are on the bubble, meaning he doesn’t think that McNamara’s group will be among the top 84 teams in the nation come March.
He’s got the ACC receiving seven bids to the tournament.
Syracuse Orange guard Kiyan Anthony (7) reacts against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Rich Barnes-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 currently named “First Four” will expand…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/early-projections-show-just-far-135601461.html
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Publish date : 2026-07-15 13:56:00
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