A Look At How Syracuse Has Dealt With Realignment

UConn’s move back to the Big East - it was officially announced today - kind of brought realignment back to the forefront and prompted this analysis from our pals at Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician (he’s so good he completely disappeared) about how realignment has worked out for the Orange.

In sum: pretty well.

Syracuse is in a powerful basketball conference and a Power 5 Conference to boot. Football is secure and new rivalries are rising that, while not as deeply rooted as Georgetown and UConn were, nonetheless are highly promising.

When Duke comes to town, it’s a big deal. So are UNC and Virginia, and some of the Big East rivalries came with them.

Syracuse has worked out surprisingly well as an ACC team. Most of us down here watched the Big East with a shudder as they pounded each other for decades. It was not an appealing brand of basketball.

The zone is still kind of goofy but in general, Syracuse plays much more like an ACC team than we could reasonably have expected. And while Jim Boeheim is still crusty, he has a certain entertainment value and manages to get his jacket off more quickly than coaches half his age.