The men’s and women’s team will each look to surpass these preseason predictions.
The Syracuse Orange men’s and women’s basketball teams will each be aiming to finish the upcoming 2024-25 season better compared to new preseason predictions released by the conference.
Syracuse men’s basketball was picked by a select 54-person media panel to finish 11th in the ACC. Likewise, the women’s team was voted to end the year 11th in the new-look ACC which now includes SMU, Cal and Stanford. Neither team had a player picked to any of the preseason All-ACC teams.
On the men’s side, Syracuse sits sandwiched between Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. Duke received 42 first-place votes, followed by North Carolina (11) and Wake Forest (1). Clemson and Virginia round out the projected top-five in the conference. Syracuse sits ahead of GT, SMU, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Cal, Stanford and Boston College.
The Syracuse women’s team sits in-between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech in the ACC preseason poll. Notre Dame (70), NC State (8) and Stanford (1) all got first-place votes. The top-five teams behind the Fighting Irish and Wolfpack are Duke, Louisville, Florida State, North Carolina and Stanford. Syracuse was voted ahead of Virginia Tech, Clemson, Cal, BC, SMU, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh.
Of course, Syracuse fans know the stories of both teams last year surpassing those preseason projections and are hoping for something similar in 2024-25.
In coach Adrian Autry’s first year, Syracuse was projected to finish 10th in the conference. The Orange ended up going 20-12 overall with an 11-9 record against the ACC, which ended up being a three-way tie for fifth place during the regular season based on conference record.
On the women’s side, the Orange were picked to finish ninth in the ACC during the preseason. Syracuse ended up going 24-8 with a 13-5 record versus the conference, finishing in a three-way tie for second in the ACC standings and earning the first NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Felisha Legette-Jack.
Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images
Here are the full results from both ACC preseason polls:
Men’s Basketball
1. Duke (42), 956
2. North Carolina (11), 924
3. Wake Forest (1), 800
4. Clemson, 765
5. Virginia, 743
6. Miami, 659
7. Pitt, 636
8. NC State, 550
9. Louisville, 518
10. Notre Dame, 462
11. Syracuse, 454
12. Georgia Tech, 433
13. SMU, 344
14. Virginia Tech, 252
15. Florida State, 251
16. California, 206
17. Stanford, 165
18. Boston College, 116
Women’s Basketball
1. Notre Dame (70), 1726
2. NC State (8), 1617
3. Duke, 1446
4. Louisville, 1370
5. Florida State, 1335
6. North Carolina, 1279
7. Stanford (1), 1214
8. Miami, 883
9. Virginia, 877
10. Georgia Tech, 855
11. Syracuse, 801
12. Virginia Tech, 786
13. Clemson, 553
14. California, 546
15. Boston College, 533
16. SMU, 274
17. Wake Forest, 259
18. Pitt, 233
Now it’s your turn: what are your thoughts on the preseason projections for both Syracuse teams? Where in the preseason poll do you agree or disagree with the most?