Sizing up the steep ACC as Syracuse begins its run eyeing an NCAA Tournament berth

Through the first 13 non-conference games which ended with a 9-4 record, with the joy of a two point Dome win over Tennessee essentially negated by the annoying one point Dome loss to Hofstra, we are right back where we started when the season got underway seven weeks ago.

Syracuse has to win a majority of its 18 ACC games to play itself into the current mix of 13 conference teams ahead of SU in the current NET Rankings (through December 22 games), to legitimately show the Orange deserve a spot among the 68 to play in March Madness.

It's certainly doable, especially if a healthy Donnie Freeman can contribute offensively and on the boards, provide Adrian Autry more matchup options with Sadiq White off the bench, and simply make the Orange a better team. But no doubt the Orange and the coaching staff have work to do between Christmas and New Year's Eve to get ready.

An improved ACC is looking for more NCAA bids

It has been a bone of contention with some down ACC seasons coinciding with Autry's tenure guiding the program, not enough teams deserving NCAA at-large bids.

In both Jim Boeheim's last season (2023) and Autry's first year (2024), five ACC teams made The Dance, with Miami reaching the Final Four in '23 and N.C. State in '24.

Last season, however, there were only four conference bids, the smallest percentage (22%) of league teams since the tourney expanded in 1975 (the SEC had 14 bids), although Duke did keep the ACC Final Four streak going with a national semifinal appearance.

As the ACC gets ready for conference play with four games on December 30, followed by four more the next day (Dec. 31) including Syracuse-Clemson in the Dome (2:00 p.m. ET / ESPN2), it has been a productive start for the league.

Here are a few notables about an improved ACC (including from its analytical partner StatsPerform):

*As of Monday, ACC teams own 16 Quad 1 NET wins. One of 10 ACC schools with a Quad 1 win, Duke is tied for the national lead with four Quad 1 wins. The 10 teams with at least one Quad 1 win is tied for the most of any league.

*The ACC's total of 38 wins this season against power conference teams is second most of any league; the ACC recorded 20 wins against power conferences last season.

*The ACC has five different true freshmen averaging at least 15.0 points per game this season. That is the most among all D-I conferences. (Kiyan Anthony is SU's top frosh scorer averaging 10.9 ppg after the Stonehill contest.)

*ACC teams have posted 25 100-point games in non-conference play, which is a league record. It tops the ACC's 1989-90 season (24) for the most in conference history. ACC teams recorded 11 100-point games in non-conference play last season.

The ACC's current NET Rankings certainly suggest that the Orange need to beat higher NET ranked Clemson at home, and much lower NET ranked Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech on the road in their first three league games, to get the journey to an NCAA bid off to a big start.

ACC NET Rankings (through games of Dec. 22):

3 Duke 11-1

16 North Carolina 12-1

17 Louisville 10-2

23 Virginia 11-1

31 N.C. State 9-4

35 Miami 11-2

36 SMU 10-2

38 Clemson 10-3

45 California 12-1

62 Virginia Tech 11-2

67 Wake Forest 9-4

77 Stanford 10-2

81 Notre Dame 9-4

88 Syracuse 9-4

119 Pittsburgh 7-6

129 Florida State 7-6

189 Boston College 6-6

191 Georgia Tech 8-4

(Note: There are 350 Div. I teams in the NET Rankings.)

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