Will Syracuse basketball make the 2024 March Madness? Breaking down the Orange's NCAA tournament 2024 odds

Syracuse is trying everything it can to catch one of the last buses to the NCAA March Madness. Like a lot of other teams on the fringe of making the postseason, the 19-10 Orange (10-8 conf) need to finish their regular season on an extremely strong note.

Syracuse needs something resembling a perfect run to sneak into March Madness.

They lost three of the five most important games on their schedule early this year (vs Wake Forest, Florida State, and Boston College). Following an upset win over North Carolina recently, Syracuse faced defeat against Georgia Tech, but have since won three of their last four games against NC State, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech.

They absolutely cannot afford to lose to the Cardinals in their matchup on Mar. 2, since that team has a losing ACC record. A loss to Louisville will tank Syracuse's chances at a postseason berth (via OrangeFizz).

Syracuse currently sit at 19 total wins and could very well end up with 21 wins and win again in the ACC tournament to finally get into March Madness.

Syracuse basketball NCAA tournament history

Throughout its history, Syracuse basketball has made the NCAA tournament a total of 39 times. The last time they were in the tournament was in 2021 when they were seeded 11th. Houston beat them in the Sweet 16 that year.

As for their deepest runs, the Orange won the national championship way back in 2003 when Carmelo Anthony, then a freshman, was playing for them. They beat Kansas 81-78 on the back of Anthony's game-high 20 points and Gerry McNamara's 18 markers. After that run, however, they only went as far as the Final Four twice, in 2013 and 2016, and haven't gone deeper since.

Syracuse basketball March Madness odds

Syracuse remains unranked in the AP Poll and is currently ninth in the ACC with a 10-8 conference record (19-10 overall). So it's safe to say that their chances at the moment are far lower than what their fans would imagine.

• Odds to win the national championship: +35000
• Preseason national championship odds: +12500
• Pre-new year national championship odds: +20000

Syracuse basketball strengths

Perimeter defense

Before the season began, Syracuse was predicted to have a relatively good year on the back of their man-to-man defense. Thus far, the Orange have indeed made this part of their game, specifically their perimeter defense, a major part of their identity.

They lead the ACC in steals per game (9.4), with their mark also good for 16th in the nation. This is mainly due to defensive stalwart Maliq Brown, who averages an excellent 2.2 steals per contest while also leading his team in rebounds (6.8) and blocks with one each game.

Syracuse basketball weaknesses

3-point shooting

In a modern game that puts a huge emphasis on outside shooting, Syracuse is a lowly 11th in 3pt FG% in the ACC, with 32.7% on 21 attempts every game. For a team that jacks up that many threes, that mark is just no good at all.

Depth

Pundits believed that depth should've been the best asset that the Orange has for the year. But this hasn't panned out either. Out of the first 10 guys to play every game, only three average in double digits, and only six out of 15 have earned the right to play over 20 minutes per contest. That's not as great depth as initially thought.