2013-14 Syracuse basketball: Schedule analysis

Syracuse’s non-conference schedule carries a little more heft than what it has in some recent years, highlighted by a visit from Indiana as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, a pair of games with former Big East conference mates St. John’s and Villanova, and a trip to Hawaii during Thanksgiving week for the Maui Invitational.  While Indiana suffered from significant losses from last year’s team, the Hoosiers are ranked #24 to start the season.  While Villanova picked up only a few votes in the preseason polls and St. John’s did not, but teams are familiar with the Orange as longtime conference foes.

The Maui Invitational is an eight-team tournament and, after the opener against Minnesota, who won 21 games last season, including one in the NCAA Tournament, the Orange will get a game with either Arkansas or California.  The Orange defeated both teams last season, the latter in the NCAA’s.  The other half of the bracket features host school Chaminade, Baylor, Dayton, and Gonzaga.  Baylor just missed being ranked in the preseason top 25 and Gonzaga stands 14^th in the polls.  In any case, the Orange will face three tough opponents unless they somehow draw Chaminade, a Division II school.

SU will face four ranked opponents in a total of five games in their first season in the ACC.  The headliner of those games is a home-and-home series with Duke, who enters the season ranked fourth in the nation.  #11 North Carolina and #22 Notre Dame will make visits to the Carrier Dome and the Orange will travel to #25 Virginia over the course of conference play.  Pittsburgh, who joins Syracuse in moving to the ACC, picked up some votes in the preseason poll and will have a home-and-home series with the Orange.

» Related: Previewing Syracuse’s opener against Cornell

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