Syracuse Basketball: 5 toughest non-conference opponents for 2018-19

DETROIT, MI - MARCH 18: Oshae Brissett #11 of the Syracuse Orange battles for the ball with Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans during the second half in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 18, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

6 of 6

OMAHA, NE – MARCH 23: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Duke Blue Devils battles for position with Oshae Brissett #11 and Marek Dolezaj #21 of the Syracuse Orange during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at CenturyLink Center on March 23, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

1. Oregon/Iowa, Neutral, November 16th

For this to be Syracuse’s toughest game, Oregon needs to beat Iowa because the Ducks are the much stronger team on paper.

Oregon is a borderline top-25 team so this would be a massive win away from home to bolster Syracuse’s resume. The Ducks have Bol Bol, the elite 7’3” recruit, who can hit perimeter shots and be disruptive with his length. Senior stretch four Paul White will likely start alongside Bol and he averaged 9.4 ppg last season. Kenny Wooten is an excellent shot blocker in his own right and gives Oregon an embarrassment of riches in the frontcourt.

The backcourt and wing rotations are also very strong as junior PG Payton Pritchard is among the best lead guards in the nation. He averaged 14.5 ppg and 4.8 apg last season, leading the Ducks in both categories. Oregon also has a big-time talent on the wing, Louis King, who could be a great secondary scorer next to Pritchard.

It would not be the end of the world if Iowa pulled off the first round upset as they could reasonably be improved. The Hawkeyes have a great collection of frontcourt talent led by Tyler Cook (15.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and an excellent PG in Jordan Bohannon, but their struggles defensively and lack of cohesion plagued them in 17-18.

Analyzing Syracuse's 2018-19 rotation. dark. Next

This list does not even include home games against Northeastern, Old Dominion, and St. Bonaventure who could all land in the top 100. Overall, this is a solid schedule, especially to bolster RPI and other metrics, but there may be a shortage of Quadrant 1 opportunities. Luckily the ACC should offer plenty of difficult games which will give Syracuse plenty of opportunities to return to the NCAA Tournament and earn a high seed.

Home/Syracuse Orange