No MSG, No Orange
The Syracuse Orange (20-12, 11-9) seemed to be a safe bet to be selected to the 2024 National Invitational Tournament, so it seemed a bit odd when the Orange didn’t appear in the 32-team field.
We had heard from Adrian Autry last week that the Orange would accept. As soon as the NCAA Selection had wrapped, we heard that Memphis, Indiana, St. John’s and Pitt were going to decline.
Had Syracuse released a statement like this prior to the NIT Selection Show, it would have been clearer what was happening.
Thank you Panther fans for your support throughout the 2023-24 season.
Back to work building for 2024-25.#H2P pic.twitter.com/az6tjVEfVh
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) March 18, 2024
While it was fairly certain that Syracuse had declined an invitation, the fact that the team’s beat reporters had expected to see the Orange listed made it a bit more muddled. If the idea was to not take away from the women’s basketball NCAA selection, it seemed to backfire based on our mentions. At least the confirmation came later last night:
11:36 p.m UPDATE per @MikeWatersSYR A statement provided by the SU athletic department stated, “We respect the NIT but our only post-season goal was to play in the NCAA tournament. Therefore, we communicated to the ACC we would not participate in the NIT.’’
— Brent Axe (@BrentAxeMedia) March 18, 2024
It was a long season for the rotation players, so if they got back from DC and collectively determined that they were finished for the year, that’s fine. We know there are departures coming, but it doesn’t make sense that Syracuse needed to decline because the transfer portal opens today.
The portal officially opens meaning schools can contact players who enter. Do you think that schools in the NCAA Tournament won’t be in touch with those players? Do you think that schools haven’t been in touch with AAU coaches or athlete representatives throughout the season? We should be accustomed to this new normal in the portal era- especially what we saw in football where there were transfers who committed to Syracuse before they visited campus.
Right now, Syracuse has had one official departure in Benny Williams. That means one more player will need to be leaving in order for the Orange to have the scholarships for both Donnie Freeman and Elijah Moore. If Syracuse does open up more room, we’ll look at what the roster needs and those players who would potentially fit.