Written by Michael McAllister at Scout.com
Syracuse sits at 18-13 after a convincing Senior Day victory over Georgia Tech. That outcome all but eliminates the Yellow Jackets from consideration for an at-large bid. Also falling out of consideration are Tennessee and TCU. Northwester, Virginia Tech and Marquette are firmly in at this point.
So where do the Orange stand compared to other bubble teams? Let’s take a look.
Bad losses are any below the RPI top 100.
| Category | Syracuse | Cal | Illinois | Ill. St. | Iowa | Kansas St | Mich St | Monmouth | Ohio St |
| Record | 18-13 | 19-11 | 18-13 | 27-6 | 18-13 | 19-12 | 18-13 | 27-6 | 17-14 |
| Road | 2-8 | 3-6 | 3-6 | 9-4 | 3-7 | 5-6 | 2-7 | 12-4 | 4-7 |
| Neutral | 0-2 | 1-2 | 3-2 | 3-2 | 1-2 | 3-1 | 2-4 | 2-1 | 0-1 |
| Conf | 10-8 | 10-8 | 8-10 | 17-1 | 10-8 | 8-10 | 10-8 | 18-2 | 7-11 |
| vs Top 100 | 9-10 | 4-9 | 11-12 | 2-4 | 9-11 | 5-10 | 11-12 | 1-3 | 8-13 |
| vs Top 50 | 6-7 | 1-7 | 3-8 | 1-2 | 5-7 | 3-8 | 5-8 | 0-2 | 4-8 |
| vs Top 25 | 3-4 | 0-6 | 1-6 | 0-0 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 2-7 | 0-1 | 1-6 |
| SOS | 61 | 36 | 20 | 155 | 46 | 54 | 9 | 201 | 34 |
| Bad Losses | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| RPI | 77 | 55 | 57 | 36 | 69 | 58 | 47 | 49 | 78 |
| Worst RPI Loss | 210 | 110 | 167 | 232 | 129 | 149 | 132 | 199 | 277 |
| Ken Pom | 44 | 55 | 68 | 49 | 67 | 32 | 50 | 78 | 70 |
| Sagarin | 36 | 51 | 67 | 59 | 60 | 50 | 42 | 85 | 54 |
| BPI | 31 | 52 | 63 | 59 | 77 | 41 | 47 | 76 | 60 |
| Category | Syracuse | Providence | Rhode Island | Seton Hall | USC | Vandy | VCU | Wake | Xavier |
| Record | 18-13 | 20-11 | 21-9 | 20-10 | 23-8 | 17-14 | 24-7 | 18-12 | 19-12 |
| Road | 2-8 | 4-7 | 7-5 | 4-6 | 6-5 | 5-6 | 7-4 | 6-8 | 4-8 |
| Neutral | 0-2 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 4-2 | 3-0 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 3-0 |
| Conf | 10-8 | 10-8 | 13-5 | 10-8 | 10-8 | 10-8 | 14-4 | 9-9 | 9-9 |
| vs Top 100 | 9-10 | 10-8 | 5-7 | 10-9 | 5-7 | 10-13 | 9-5 | 8-12 | 8-11 |
| vs Top 50 | 6-7 | 5-7 | 2-4 | 4-6 | 2-5 | 5-8 | 2-3 | 3-8 | 3-8 |
| vs Top 25 | 3-4 | 1-4 | 2-3 | 1-4 | 2-5 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 1-7 | 0-6 |
| SOS | 61 | 50 | 55 | 58 | 77 | 3 | 63 | 13 | 12 |
| Bad Losses | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| RPI | 77 | 52 | 42 | 43 | 38 | 44 | 23 | 28 | 32 |
| Worst RPI Loss | 210 | 229 | 211 | 130 | 131 | 262 | 211 | 77 | 103 |
| Ken Pom | 44 | 53 | 51 | 54 | 61 | 40 | 48 | 30 | 43 |
| Sagarin | 36 | 44 | 52 | 41 | 49 | 48 | 42 | 33 | 38 |
| BPI | 31 | 55 | 39 | 56 | 58 | 48 | 38 | 30 | 35 |
When you actually stack Syracuse’s resume side by side to other bubble teams, the Orange has a very strong case to be in the NCAA Tournament almost regardless of the outcome of Wednesday’s ACC Tournament matchup with Miami. Syracuse has more 50 and top 25 wins than every other team listed.
The big issue on Syracuse’s resume is wins away from the Carrier Dome, or lack there of. However, eight of the teams listed only have one or two more road wins than the Orange. Given other aspects of the resume, that hardly seems like something that should keep Syracuse out. Though it is a clear flaw in SU’s resume and will be a factor for the committee.
The other black eye for Syracuse is their bad losses. They have three, which is tied for the most in this group of bubble teams. However, eight teams have as many or just one fewer. Six teams have a loss that is worse in terms of RPI.
Syracuse’s RPI is also among the higher in this group at 77. However, many suggest that the RPI calculation is flawed and outdated. Advance metrics such as Ken Pom, Sagarin and even BPI are considered more accurate. In each of those categories, Syracuse is much more highly ranked.
In the Ken Pom rankings, Syracuse is sixth in this group. In Sagarin’s, Syracuse is second behind only Wake Forest (a team SU beat head to head). In BPI, the Orange is only behind Wake once again.
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