On Sunday at 5:30 p.m., the NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced. The field will be comprised of 32 automatic qualifiers from conference champions and the next 36 will be made up of the “best” remaining teams. With Syracuse (18-14, 10-8 Atlantic Coast) sitting on the bubble, here’s where several bracketologists project the Orange.

Patrick Stevens, projections appear in the Washington Post — First team out

Stevens has repeatedly said Syracuse’s 2-11 record away from the Carrier Dome will ultimately sink the Orange. SU has five losses against teams with an RPI rank of 100 or higher, another knock against Syracuse.

Stevens ranks as the 11th best bracketologist over the past five years, per Bracketmatrix.com.

Joe Lunardi, ESPN — Last four in

Lunardi picked Syracuse to miss the Tournament last season and then SU made its improbable Final Four run. He projects the Orange to make it as the third-to-last team in, ahead of Kansas State and Rhode Island.

Lunardi ranks as 22nd best bracketologist over the past five years, per Bracketmatrix.

Andy Bottoms, Assembly Call — First team out

Bottoms lists Syracuse as the 69th team, missing the cut by just one spot. He detailed the Orange’s distinct résumé on Friday.

Bottoms ranks as the top bracketologist over the past five years, per Bracketmatrix.

Shelby Mast, USA Today — First four out

Mast lists Syracuse among the first four out with Illinois State, Illinois and Georgia. Providence, Southern California, Kansas State and Rhode Island make up Mast’s last four in.

Michael Beller, Sports Illustrated — Last team in

Beller lists Syracuse above the cut line but below Wake Forest, Kansas State and USC. He lists Rhode Island and Illinois State missing the field. If URI wins the Atlantic 10 championship on Sunday, that could bump SU out of the field, based on Beller’s projection.

Beller is ranked as the 48th best bracketologist over the past five years, per Bracketmatrix.

Jerry Palm, CBS Sports — Out

Not only does Palm have Syracuse outside his field of 68, the Orange isn’t even in his first four out. Palm’s field features Kansas State, Marquette, Providence and Xavier. The first four teams out are California, Illinois State, Rhode Island and Vanderbilt.

Palm ranks as the 61st best bracketologist over the past five years, per Bracketmatrix.

Dave Ommen, NBC Sports — First four out

Ommen projected Syracuse to miss the Tournament last year and has SU missing out again this time. While he doesn’t have the Orange in the field, he points out that Syracuse is one of the most polarizing teams in the country.

Stewart Mandel, FOX Sports — First six out

Mandel projects Providence, Kansas State, Rhode Island and USC to make the field. Syracuse isn’t in that group and just misses.

Mandel ranks as the third best bracketologist on Bracketmatrix among projections that began in the past 1-2 years.

Bracketmatrix — First team out

Of the 115 brackets compiled on the site, Syracuse is projected to make the field in just 40 of them. Wake Forest (111 brackets), USC (104), Kansas State (102) and Rhode Island (84) are all projected to make the field more often than the Orange.

Published on March 12, 2017 at 2:19 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds