Welcome to the 2015-16 Syracuse men’s basketball season.

Here, Daily Orange beat writers Sam Blum, Jesse Dougherty and Matt Schneidman predict SU’s regular-season record, where it will finish in the postseason, who will be the team’s most valuable player and who will be its biggest surprise. Note that the record predictions are two games short because Syracuse has two undetermined opponents at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 26 and 27.

If you have any thoughts or predictions for the season, let us know in the comment section below or vote in our poll here.

Sam Blum
Record: 21-8 (11-7 Atlantic Coast)
NCAA Tournament: Round of 32
Team MVP: Michael Gbinije
Biggest surprise: Tyler Lydon

Season outlook: Syracuse this season is probably somewhere in between where it was the two seasons prior. Not anywhere close to the nation’s top team. Not at risk of missing out on the Big Dance completely. A lot hinges on Dajuan Coleman‘s ability to come back and play to the five-star capability that arrived with him at Syracuse four years ago. And a great deal also rests on newly-minted starting point guard Michael Gbinije. The Orange’s lack of front-court depth will eventually be its downfall.

Jesse Dougherty
Record: 18-11 (9-9 ACC)
NCAA Tournament finish: Round of 64
Team MVP: Michael Gbinije
Biggest surprise: Kaleb Joseph

Season outlook: In a very good year for the ACC, a 9-9 league record gets Syracuse into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 or 9 seed. The Orange’s most notable wins are on the road at St. John’s, at home against North Carolina State and at home against what could be a ranked Florida State team on Feb. 11. It doesn’t make for the most glamorous resume, but staying afloat in what could be the country’s best conference will count for something when deliberation day comes. But the frontcourt is too thin for the Orange to regularly beat teams it shouldn’t, and that will be the story of the season.

Matt Schneidman 
Record: 29-9 (12-6 ACC)
NCAA Tournament finish: Sweet 16
Team MVP: Malachi Richardson
Biggest surprise: Kaleb Joseph

Season outlook: Syracuse faces more questions than anything else heading into a fresh season. Coleman’s health and Gbinije’s ability to play full-time point guard lead the list, and all three scholarship freshmen pose an intrigue before ever playing a regular season college game. That’s the reason SU flies under the radar this year, but don’t expect the Orange to finish as low as ninth in a conference top-heavy with national contenders North Carolina, Duke and Virginia. Syracuse isn’t quite at that level, but those preseason questions turn into a successful season many don’t expect.

Published on November 13, 2015 at 11:07 am