Busting Brackets
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ACC Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Tristan Freeman

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 12: The Florida State Seminoles, lead by Head coach Leonard Hamilton (L), are presented with the regular season trophy following the cancelation of the remainder of the 2020 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 12, 2020 in Greensboro, North Carolina. The cancelation is due to concerns over the possible spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 12: The Florida State Seminoles, lead by Head coach Leonard Hamilton (L), are presented with the regular season trophy following the cancelation of the remainder of the 2020 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 12, 2020 in Greensboro, North Carolina. The cancelation is due to concerns over the possible spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Buddy Boeheim #35 of the Syracuse Orange (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Buddy Boeheim #35 of the Syracuse Orange (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

. Orange . 10. team. 445. . 18-14 (10-10)

The Orange were hit with departures from both ends of the roster. Leading scorer Elijah Hughes (19.0 ppg) is staying in the NBA Draft, while bench players Howard Washington, Brycen Goodine, and Jalen Carey all transferred out. They did land Illinois wing transfer Alan Griffin this offseason but he’s likely to sit out next season.

The good news for Syracuse is that they do return four starters from this past season. Joseph Girard III had a big freshman campaign as the effective starting point guard once Carey went down, while Coach Jim Boeheim’s son Buddy had a breakout sophomore season, averaging 15.2 ppg. The frontcourt duo of Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe improved as well, though they’ll each have to take a big leap in order for the program to reach the top half of the conference.

6th man Quincy Guerrier will likely replace Hughes at the wing unless incoming four-star small forward freshman Kadary Richmond elevates into a bigger role than expected. Syracuse is going to need some kind of bench production, having to rely on four starters averaging over 33 mpg last season. If any of those players have off nights, the odds of the team winning automatically drops.

With only Boeheim and Girard capable of shooting three-points and the team losing their best shot-creator in Hughes, the offense is going to have to find ways to produce without being so easily scouted against. Similar to the 2/3 zone, which has been much easier to score on these days without formidable defenders.