For the Syracuse Orange, the dust is finally settled on all of their out of conference games, and fans certainly have to feel great about how the team is performing so far.
Just over a week from now, Syracuse will enter the ACC portion of its 2025-26 schedule with all but one loss. Early on, the Orange have quietly emerged as a bubble NCAA Tournament team from the preseason to the end of December. What’s behind the change in outlook?
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Here is one final look at Syracuse’s full non-conference resume.
Syracuse is now ranked No. 40 in NET, as of Sunday. That is still just eighth-best in the ACC, but it’s certainly a major leap up in the metric compared to the start of the year.
Part of the reason behind that success: seven of Syracuse’s 11 non-con games did come against Q4 opponents. However, those contests weren’t just wins, but turned into total blowouts for the Orange:
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Stony Brook (No. 268): 74-50
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Canisius (No. 337): 96-72
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Binghamton (No. 189): 72-54
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Mercyhurst (No. 359): 106-40
None of those are expected to jump up to Q3, unless Howard can get up to at least No. 90 in NET, but it’s a promising trend out of the gate: Syracuse taking care of business against Q4 opponents.
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The rest of the resume outside Q4 also has a few notable wins the Orange can hang their hats on. Their 19-point win over UAlbany is quietly Q3 win as of now with Albany sitting exactly at No. 90 in NET. Syracuse has another Q3 win over Auburn (No. 67) in overtime, plus a signature Q2 win by 12 uver Utah (No. 43). If Utah can bump up to top-35 in NET, that could be a fringe Q1 victory, but for now it’s a solid Q2.
Syracuse’s only Q1 loss came in a neutral-site game versus Michigan (No. 5), where it lost 81-55.
The final non-con resume: 0-1 in Q1, 1-0 in Q2, 2-0 in Q3 and 7-0 in Q4.
Here is how the Orange’s resume compares to other ACC teams either projected to make the NCAA Tournament or sitting right along the bubble:
|
Team |
Bracketology Projection (ESPN) |
NET |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Syracuse |
Last Four In |
40 |
0-1 |
1-0 |
2-0 |
8-0 |
|
Virginia |
Last Four In |
32 |
0-2 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
9-1 |
|
Miami |
First Four Out |
50 |
0-3 |
1-1 |
1-0 |
5-0 |
|
Clemson |
First Four Out |
48 |
0-4 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
8-0 |
|
Virginia Tech |
Last Four Out |
53 |
0-0 |
1-3 |
2-0 |
7-0 |
|
Stanford |
No. 8 seed |
34 |
0-0 |
3-1 |
2-0 |
5-1 |
|
NC State |
No. 7 seed |
31 |
1-3 |
1-1 |
2-0 |
4-0 |
|
Notre Dame |
No. 5 seed |
19 |
1-2 |
1-0 |
2-0 |
4-0 |
|
Louisville |
No. 4 seed |
13 |
2-3 |
1-0 |
2-0 |
7-0 |
|
North Carolina |
No. 4 seed |
16 |
0-3 |
2-0 |
2-0 |
6-0 |
ESPN’s latest bracketology update projects five ACC teams in the field with another two (Syracuse and Virginia) sneaking in and three on the outside looking in.
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So far, Syracuse’s NET is certainly boosted by the dominant Q4 victories. Its just one of three ACC teams mentioned above with eight Q4 wins, and all of the trio are in bubble territory.
Looking ahead, here is a full look at Syracuse’s ACC schedule broken down by NET and quadrant:
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Florida State (home): No. 115, Q4
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Wake Forest (road): No. 116, Q3
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Virginia Tech (home): No. 53, Q2
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Virginia (road): No. 32, Q1
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California (home): No. 66, Q3
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Stanford (home): No. 34, Q2
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North Carolina (road): No. 16, Q1
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Georgia Tech (home): No. 121, Q4
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Boston College (road): No. 220, Q4
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Louisville (home): No. 13, Q1
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Pittsburgh (road): No. 229, Q4
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Clemson (home): No. 48, Q2
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NC State (road): No. 31, Q1
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Notre Dame (road): No. 19, Q1
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Boston College (home): No. 220, Q4
The three key trends to see if the Orange ultimately make the big dance.
First, can Syracuse continue its dominance against Q4 opponents? Surprisingly, there are plenty of them in the conference in 2025-26.
Including Syracuse’s road win over SMU (Q4), one-third of all of Syracuse’s ACC games (not including the conference tournament) are against Q4 opponents.
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Second, what’s the record for Orange against the rest of the bubble? There’s some key tests on the schedule versus those teams specifically. Among them, Virginia Tech and Clemson at home, and Miami and Virginia on the road. Those games might very well determine how the rest of the year goes.
Lastly, can the Orange get at least one Q1 and put up a fight against that caliber of opponent? Four of its five Q1 games are at home, and the one non-road game is against Louisville, who has the best net in the ACC.
Syracuse will return to the JMA Wireless Dome on Sunday afternoon to face the Duke Blue Devils, an early ACC test for the Orange.
