CBSSports: College basketball No. 1-358 rankings

[OrangeXtreme]

College basketball No. 1-358 rankings: Preseason countdown concludes with top 68 teams for 2021-22 season

Check out the top teams in the CBS Sports ranking of all 358 NCAA Division I college basketball teams

www.cbssports.com

46. Syracuse: You're not going to believe this, but I've got Syracuse as a bubble team come March. The Buddy Boeheim Show will have its most critically acclaimed season in the shooting guard's senior go-round. In Cuse's five 2021 postseason games, Boeheim averaged 25 points -- and he'll likely improve upon his overall 17.8 average from last season. SU did well for itself in keeping 11 scholarship players, but the incoming guy who will probably see his college career get a bump is former Villanova wing Cole Swider. He hasn't unlocked his potential yet. Same goes for SU point guard Joe Girard III, who needs to take a jump to ensure SU is in the top half of the ACC.

 

[djcon57]

Matt Norlander called us a bubble team. We hate him now.

 

[hoopsupstate]

SU would be picked #7 according to this poll.

 

[Alsacs]

Matt Norlander called us a bubble team. We hate him now.

I mean anyone who is objective would see we were barely a tournament team last year.
Lost 2 of our best players.
Replaced them.

Lost our best PG but because of Covid we are now a top 25 team.

I mean cmon. I hope we are good but until we see I wouldn’t believe we are much different than last year.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Matt Norlander called us a bubble team. We hate him now.

I think we are better off if our guys have a chip on their shoulder.

 

[Alsacs]

I think we are better off if our guys have a chip on their shoulder.

So Buddy getting all this ACC POY and preseason all-American hype will make him worse in your books?

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I mean anyone who is objective would see we were barely a tournament team last year.
Lost 2 of our best players.
Replaced them.

Lost our best PG but because of Covid we are now a top 25 team.

I mean cmon. I hope we are good but until we see I wouldn’t believe we are much different than last year.

Better chemistry. I think much better.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

So Buddy getting all this ACC POY and preseason all-American hype will make him worse in your books?

I'm sure Buddy enjoyed his S16 run last year but probably wants to give his dad something better. I don't think we need to worry about Buddy, even if he doesn't average 25 ppg.

 

[Orangezoo]

Matt Norlander called us a bubble team. We hate him now.

In fairness Norlander is lazy and sucks. He is likely using other guys who did their homework on us and using their stuff. 46 is more than fair given what we have done the past 5 yrs but overall yeah Norlander sucks.

For once he actually has us where we should be.

 

[Nicknack]

I mean anyone who is objective would see we were barely a tournament team last year.
Lost 2 of our best players.
Replaced them.

Lost our best PG but because of Covid we are now a top 25 team.

I mean cmon. I hope we are good but until we see I wouldn’t believe we are much different than last year.

I think we will be better than last year, but you're right in that anyone from the outside probably wont see that now, nor should they. With our best pg leaving, Joe HAS to play much better. If he does, this could be a fun team to watch.

 

[GooseMutt]

I think we are better off if our guys have a chip on their shoulder.

Over recent years we’ve had more chips than Fargo

 

[Sherman20]

College basketball No. 1-358 rankings: Preseason countdown concludes with top 68 teams for 2021-22 season

Check out the top teams in the CBS Sports ranking of all 358 NCAA Division I college basketball teams

www.cbssports.com

46. Syracuse: You're not going to believe this, but I've got Syracuse as a bubble team come March. The Buddy Boeheim Show will have its most critically acclaimed season in the shooting guard's senior go-round. In Cuse's five 2021 postseason games, Boeheim averaged 25 points -- and he'll likely improve upon his overall 17.8 average from last season. SU did well for itself in keeping 11 scholarship players, but the incoming guy who will probably see his college career get a bump is former Villanova wing Cole Swider. He hasn't unlocked his potential yet. Same goes for SU point guard Joe Girard III, who needs to take a jump to ensure SU is in the top half of the ACC.

College basketball No. 1-358 rankings: Preseason countdown concludes with top 68 teams for 2021-22 season

Check out the top teams in the CBS Sports ranking of all 358 NCAA Division I college basketball teams

www.cbssports.com

46. Syracuse: You're not going to believe this, but I've got Syracuse as a bubble team come March. The Buddy Boeheim Show will have its most critically acclaimed season in the shooting guard's senior go-round. In Cuse's five 2021 postseason games, Boeheim averaged 25 points -- and he'll likely improve upon his overall 17.8 average from last season. SU did well for itself in keeping 11 scholarship players, but the incoming guy who will probably see his college career get a bump is former Villanova wing Cole Swider. He hasn't unlocked his potential yet. Same goes for SU point guard Joe Girard III, who needs to take a jump to ensure SU is in the top half of the ACC.

That’s a fair preseason ranking considering our recent history. But I think we’ll be better, a fringe top 25 team, for most of the season. I see at least 10 teams ahead of us here that we should end up being better than, including Rutgers, Va Tech, Texas Tech, Seton Hall, and others. We would’ve been a consensus top 25 team if Kadary returned, but I think Joe will step up and do a decent job at PG and we’ll be a very good offensive team. Defense is the big question mark.

 

[Nicknack]

That’s a fair preseason ranking considering our recent history. But I think we’ll be better, a fringe top 25 team, for most of the season. I see at least 10 teams ahead of us here that we should end up being better than, including Rutgers, Va Tech, Texas Tech, Seton Hall, and others. We would’ve been a consensus top 25 team if Kadary returned, but I think Joe will step up and do a decent job at PG and we’ll be a very good offensive team. Defense is the big question mark.

Yep, I agree, offense should be good although there will probably be games where outside shooting will be off and we may not be able to manufacture points inside (hopefully I'm wrong and underestimating our current team). What I'm most concerned about is whether Joe will be able to handle pressure from good quality tournament teams, and I don't mean just dribbling out of harms way but making something happen.

 

[Orangezoo]

Joe has to push the ball and look to break every time he can. In the half court when he gets a screen he needs to drive hard and quickly or dribble quickly into an open shot. Be quick and decisive. Also he should not be the guy with the ball late in the shot clock unless it's taking an open shot or getting a great screen( unlikely at that point). He needs to be an improved version of the player we saw vs SDST and WVU.

 

[RealMcNeil]

I would have thought somewhere in the 30-40 range, to be honest. SU was right around KenPom's 45 mark all season last year, IIRC. Assuming we maintain a similar or improved offense, which I think is reasonable, the defense has to end up better - availability and improvement of Edwards / Sidibe alone should be a decent bump there. I'll be interested to see Swider / Williams / Boeheim on the wing. Guerrier and Griffin were flat out liabilities there on defense last year. Torrence will also be interesting. I suspect/hope he can be a very solid defender at the top of the zone.

Time will tell but I'm cautiously optimistic that this team exceeds the bubble expectations by a decent margin.

 

[Col. Bleep]

Point is always crucial.
But the big difference this season could be at center.
For some inexplicable reason, I have a feeling that Jesse Edwards is going to take a big step up.

 

[kcsu]

Point is our weak link. Hopefully Joe plays well this year

 

[jncuse]

There is no way that Chicago St is #358. They are getting jobbed.
I have them at #355 on my ranking.

 

[walsh2012]

Norlander is just constantly wrong he doesn't know anything

 

[SoBristol]

We could be significantly improved with inside defense and rebounding. Marek as a center replaced by Edwards (up 10 LBs from last season), Sidibe (if healthy), possibly Frank. Griffin replaced by guys less athletic but taller and stronger. Guerrier is a big loss, but the combination of what we have should overcome his departure.

We have plenty of shooters — inside defense is what can make us better.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

College basketball No. 1-358 rankings: Preseason countdown concludes with top 68 teams for 2021-22 season

Check out the top teams in the CBS Sports ranking of all 358 NCAA Division I college basketball teams

www.cbssports.com

46. Syracuse: You're not going to believe this, but I've got Syracuse as a bubble team come March. The Buddy Boeheim Show will have its most critically acclaimed season in the shooting guard's senior go-round. In Cuse's five 2021 postseason games, Boeheim averaged 25 points -- and he'll likely improve upon his overall 17.8 average from last season. SU did well for itself in keeping 11 scholarship players, but the incoming guy who will probably see his college career get a bump is former Villanova wing Cole Swider. He hasn't unlocked his potential yet. Same goes for SU point guard Joe Girard III, who needs to take a jump to ensure SU is in the top half of the ACC.

Obligatory "JB does his best work with low expectations" thank you Matt Norlander, or forever more to be known as Matt Dorklander, amirite?

 

[GardenOrange]

A big takeaway for me is Matt has low opinion of the ACC in general. With this few teams in the top 50 vs regular ACC standards, Cuse should be able to garner a little better in conference record maybe.

 

[RealMcNeil]

We could be significantly improved with inside defense and rebounding. Marek as a center replaced by Edwards (up 10 LBs from last season), Sidibe (if healthy), possibly Frank. Griffin replaced by guys less athletic but taller and stronger. Guerrier is a big loss, but the combination of what we have should overcome his departure.

We have plenty of shooters — inside defense is what can make us better.

100% agree that the combination of Edwards / Anselem / Sidibe is a net positive defensively (hopefully more of a deterrent to the lobs and interior passes, that should help the guards a bit), perhaps offensively if for no other reason than some different looks to space the floor.

The Swider for Griffin replacement strikes me as a wash - maybe give up a bit defensively, but a lot of Griffin's defensive contributions came after lapses in judgment and relied solely on athleticism. Offensively, I think Swider takes better shots and probably plays a little more within himself.

Jimmy is going to be an interesting play in the forward rotation. Statistically a sieve on defense at Cornell, we'll see how he does in the zone - god knows he's had the time to learn it. I think offensively he'll be a more than serviceable replacement for Dolezaj at the high post, maybe better positioned to turn and make a play.

My question is whether Guerrier really is a big loss for SU. I was/am a big fan, but he wasn't a great fit on this team - at least defensively. His DBPM was only ahead of Buddy last season (different conversation), and his shot left him pretty one dimensional on offense. I like the combination of forwards and looks they'll give this season enough to say this is a net positive replacement. It's going to hurt to see Guerrier have an excellent year at Oregon, though.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Obligatory "JB does his best work with low expectations" thank you Matt Norlander, or forever more to be known as Matt Dorklander, amirite?

Moar like Matt Nerdlinger amirite

 

[two3zone]

I mean anyone who is objective would see we were barely a tournament team last year.
Lost 2 of our best players.
Replaced them.

Lost our best PG but because of Covid we are now a top 25 team.

I mean cmon. I hope we are good but until we see I wouldn’t believe we are much different than last year.

We lost 4 of our 5 best players including one and a half of the guys who could bring the ball up under pressure.