Ken Pomeroy released his preseason KenPom rankings for the 2026-27 season on Sunday afternoon, and Gerry McNamara’s squad slotted in at 80th amongst the 365 teams in college basketball, which is 7 spots above where the Orange finished last year.
Syracuse is projected to have a record of 17-14, 7-11 in ACC play (no prediction for the Rutgers game yet) which is not a promising outlook going into the season.
This is how the ACC fares in the initial KenPom rankings:
- Duke (1st)
- Virginia (15th)
- Louisville (17th)
- Miami (22nd)
- North Carolina (37th)
- Clemson (50th)
- Virginia Tech (52nd)
- SMU (60th)
- NC State (65th)
- Pittsburgh (66th)
- Stanford (67th)
- Florida State (73rd)
- Wake Forest (76th)
- Syracuse (80th)
- Notre Dame (83rd)
- California (96th)
- Georgia Tech (101st)
- Boston College (114th)
The non-conference schedule holds some tough opponents according to KenPom, with the Orange having five opponents in the top 100: St. John’s (23rd), Oklahoma (29th), Providence (39th), Indiana (47th), Rutgers (82nd).
Syracuse gets a great exhibition test against UConn tomorrow night. Danny Hurley’s Huskies landed at 11th and should provide a measuring stick for the Orange before the regular season begins.