2022-23 ACC Basketball Odds: Syracuse a Longshot to UNC and Duke

As has been the case for most of the decade that Syracuse has played in the ACC, the Orange’s odds to win the conference in 2022-23 are quite long compared to favorites North Carolina and Duke.

The balance of power in the conference remains in North Carolina. However, it has shifted to Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels, who surrendered a 16-point lead in the national title game to Kansas last year, return many of their top players this year. Despite that difficult loss, they defeated Duke at Cameron Indoor to begin March and also eliminated the rival Blue Devils in the Final Four round last year.

Duke presses on despite losing Paolo Banchero (No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft to Orlando) and the retirement of head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Following his retirement, that leaves Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim as the active wins leader. The Orange, however, have a way to go after not finishing above .500 for the first time in the legendary coach’s over 40-year career.

North Carolina entered the NCAA Tournament as an 8-seed last year and nearly became the second team seeded that low (1985 Villanova) to win it all. For ACC observers, it wasn’t a surprise as the Heels beat Duke to spoil Coach K’s final home game. Additionally, they had two wins over Virginia Tech, who won the ACC Tournament.

Now, Hubert Davis’ team is the preseason No. 1-ranked team in the country. Armando Bacot returns with a chance to become UNC’s first National Player of the Year since Tyler Hansbrough in 2009. Caleb Love, R.J. Davis, and Leaky Black also return and are joined by Northwestern transfer Pete Nance. The forward averaged nearly 15 points per game last year for the Wildcats.

The Blue Devils will be led by former player and longtime Coach K assistant Jon Scheyer. He got quite the celebration from his players after notching his first win on the bench–a 71-44 rout over Jacksonville.

The good news for Scheyer is that he will be starting with a mostly clean slate. The Blue Devils have 11 new players this year after Krzyzewski’s parting gift to the program was the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the nation. Dereck Lively II was the top-rated recruit in the country, and he and Tyrese Proctor are expected to be two of the league’s top newcomers.

Davis knows what Scheyer may be going through this year in Durham. He had a rough start replacing Roy Williams last year, but the season turned out to be a big success. We’re also expecting similar results for Scheyer.

Before we get to the Orange’s chances, here are at the odds to win the ACC’s regular-season championship at various NY sportsbooks.

Shopping around for odds when it comes to futures bets is one of the best strategies there is. That’s the case again here in the ACC. While North Carolina is the consensus favorite, but you can get varying odds on just about every other team. For Syracuse, the odds at FanDuel are more than two-times better than at Caesars Sportsbook.

The Orange will be looking to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time since 2007-08.

While head coach Jim Boeheim hasn’t said if or when he will call it quits anytime soon, the legendary coach is now 78 and has seen both sons, Buddy and Jimmy, go through his program. The season-opening win over Lehigh on Monday was Boeheim’s 1,100th win on the court, even though the NCAA recognizes 999 of them.

Interestingly, look for Boeheim to make some changes this year. He has pledged to playing more man-to-man defense instead of his patented 2-3 zone, which seemed to stymie teams more in the Big East than in the ACC. In addition, Boeheim typically will end up playing around eight players. In Monday’s win, 12 played and 10 had significant minutes.

The team began to make a run in February of last year. But after a four-game win streak, center Jesse Edwards was injured, and the team lost its final four regular-season contests. Edwards returns, along with guard Joe Girard III.

They are also joined by freshman Judah Mintz and Chris Bell in the starting lineup. Four other freshman will be vying for playing time off the bench. He became just the fourth person under Boeheim to start at point guard in his first game as a freshman. The others: Jason Hart, Jonny Flynn, and Brandon Triche. He also scored 16 points in the win over Lehigh.

In conclusion, a deeper Orange team with a coach who appears to be able to learn new tricks should mean a better season for the Orange. While an ACC regular-season title seems unlikely, Syracuse should return to the NCAA Tournament.

ACC Regular Season Championship Prediction: North Carolina