Syracuse has taken real steps forward this offseason, but the national bracket talk still isn’t buying the Orange as an NCAA Tournament team yet.
That’s the latest message from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, who rolled out a “way too early bracketology” for the 2026-27 season on Tuesday and left Syracuse out entirely. He did the same in his first projection on July 15.
It’s a tough read for a program trying to get back to the tournament for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Gerry McNamara has been hired as head coach, the roster has been reworked through the transfer portal, and the Orange appear to be moving in the right direction. But Lunardi’s latest field doesn’t reflect that progress.
The part that stings even more is the size of the expanded tournament. The NCAA Tournament is growing from 68 teams to 76, which should create more room for bubble teams to sneak in. Syracuse still isn’t in Lunardi’s picture.
He projected seven ACC teams into the field: Duke as a No. 1 seed, Louisville as a No. 2 seed, Virginia as a No. 3 seed, North Carolina as a No. 8 seed, Miami as a No. 7 seed, Clemson as a No. 10 seed and NC State as a No. 11 seed.
And Syracuse doesn’t even show up among the eight teams Lunardi listed as close to the cut line. That group included SMU, Virginia Tech and Florida State, which suggests he doesn’t currently see the Orange as one of the ACC’s top 10 teams.
For McNamara’s group, that has to feel like a cold evaluation after all the work to build more balance and depth across the roster.
The tournament’s new format, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, will add eight teams to the field and expand the old “First Four” into 12 games involving 24 teams before the first Thursday of the event. Those 12 winners will move into the standard bracket and get the field down to the familiar 64 teams by Thursday.
Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports added that six of those “First 12” games will feature at-large teams, while six will be automatic qualifiers.
The basic math works out this way: 76 teams total, 24 in the “First 12,” 52 not playing in it, and 12 winners joining those 52 to make the traditional 64-team bracket.
Syracuse opens its season Nov. 2 at home against New Haven. The non-conference slate also includes Indiana, Providence, St. John’s and Oklahoma.
In Other News...
JJ Starling Just Put Syracuse In The Middle Of A Bigger Fight
JJ Starlings next move is now tied to a much larger fight over college basketball eligibility. The former Syracuse guard is part of a California lawsuit involving 2022 high school graduates who are seeking a fifth year of NCAA eligibility, a challenge that could reshape how older players move through the sport and how teams like Syracuse plan around roster turnover.
At the same time, Starling has entered the NCAA transfer portal, giving him another path if he chooses not to stay in the college game. He averaged 10.9 points per game last season and still has professional options on the table, so his situation is less about one immediate decision than a bigger waiting game with multiple possible exits. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Is Suddenly Tied To A Strange Quarterback Twist
Rickie Collins is on the move again, and the path has become a little more tangled for Syracuse fans to follow. After previous stops at LSU and Syracuse, Collins is expected to be named Kennesaw States starting quarterback this fall, according to a CBS Sports report. He spent part of 2025 in a prominent role for the Orange when Steve Angeli was hurt, starting five games in a stretch that did not produce a win for Syracuse.
The wrinkle is what makes this one stand out: the job Collins is poised to take in Georgia opened because the previous Kennesaw State starter, Amari Odom, transferred to Syracuse. It is the kind of quarterback crossover that keeps the college football carousel spinning, with one programs depth chart shift becoming anothers opportunity. For Syracuse, it is another reminder of how quickly the position can change and how interconnected these roster moves have become. [Read more 🡒]
Perry Eliano Has Syracuse's Secondary Facing One Big Question
Perry Eliano arrived in January and immediately stepped into one of Syracuses more intriguing position groups, taking over a secondary that already included established names like Chris Peal and Demetres Samuel Jr. His early emphasis has been on relationships and trust, the sort of foundation a defensive backs coach needs when he wants players to buy into a more versatile approach rather than simply lock into one spot and stay there.
So far, that approach has produced real progress, with the defensive backs getting comfortable enough for the staff to try different players in different roles. The secondary has moved forward under Elianos watch, especially at safety, but the biggest question still hangs over camp: even with the versatility and the competition, the Orange have not settled on their starters yet. [Read more 🡒]