Syracuse men’s basketball: the ACC needs to settle on a schedule already

18? 20? Is less really more?

The Syracuse Orange are still waiting to find out who they will play in the 25-26 men’s basketball season because the ACC is trying to fix their basketball issues.

One of the ideas being considered is dropping back down to an 18-game conference schedule, so teams could play two more non-conference games to help the metrics used for NCAA Tournament selection.

We’re big fans of analytics so finally getting on board with gaming the numbers is a push we can get behind. The challenge is that Syracuse needs to build their non-conference schedule and waiting isn’t a great idea.

The Orange are one of 18 teams to participate in the 2025 Player’s Era Invitational in Las Vegas. The expectation is that teams will play in a round-robin format which guarantees at least three games, but we don’t know the exact details and that should absolutely impact how Syracuse would schedule two more non-conference games.

If the Orange are playing neutral-site games against St. John’s. Alabama and Gonzaga, why would they schedule two more marquee non-conference games over playing home games against two low-majors? Adrian Autry can’t get to March and say “We didn’t win enough games, but the ACC got 8 teams in so that’s a good thing”.

Encouraging schools to play more challenging games is fine, but you can’t over-schedule and just eat more losses. You still have to win games and while it’s great for fans to play big-name games in Vegas and NYC, you have to find balance. That’s hard to do when the ACC can’t tell you who you’ll play and where.

Last year Syracuse didn’t play a game in North Carolina, so if this year the road slate includes Duke, UNC and NC State, that’s another factor for schedule consideration. We’re into May and schools aren’t going to wait around for Phillips to decide, like Duke for example.

But what works for Duke doesn’t work for Syracuse, and what works for Syracuse doesn’t work for others in the ACC. If the league wants to help the league get stronger, they should try to make each team stronger.

Use analytics to project what each team needs once you set the ACC schedule. If you have Louisville only playing one game against Duke, then help find them a marquee non-conference game. Help Boston College find a New England state school that they can beat at home….well maybe that’s asking too much of Jim Phillips, but you get the point.

Spend some money and really look at the best way to improve the at-large chances of the ACC. Jumping back and forth between 18 and 20 league games is just going to be another annoyance for everyone.