Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Syracuse Could Become Just Second Team to Win Power Conference in First Year
Duke and North Carolina appear to be the only teams standing in the way of Syracuse becoming just the second team ever to win a power conference during its first year in the league.
Jim Boeheim’s club is currently 13-0 and ranked No. 2 behind Arizona as it enters its first year in the ACC — beginning with Saturday’s game against Miami.
As Mike Waters pointed out in this excellent piece, Arkansas won the Southeastern Conference regular season title in the 1991-2 season after moving over from the now-defunct Southwest Athletic Conference.
“If you look at those teams, how many had been league champions in their old league in the past 10 years?” ESPN’s Jay Bilas told Waters. “Syracuse is a power. You don’t often see the power of a league switch leagues. It doesn’t happen that often. Usually, teams in a power position in a league remain in that league.”
Syracuse joins Pittsburgh and Notre Dame in the new-look ACC, but among those schools Syracuse — led by stud freshman point guard Tyler Ennis — is the only one in danger of winning the ACC.
The Orange play Duke twice and North Carolina once — in games that could well determine the league winner.
“In Syracuse’s favor, after all those years in Big East, Syracuse is more suited than most teams to play in a new league because of all the styles they faced in the Big East,” Bilas said.
Here’s Waters’ breakdown on how previous teams switching leagues in power conferences did:
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Duke and North Carolina appear to be the only teams standing in the way of Syracuse becoming just the second team ever to win a power conference during its first year in the league.
Jim Boeheim’s club is currently 13-0 and ranked No. 2 behind Arizona as it enters its first year in the ACC — beginning with Saturday’s game against Miami.
As Mike Waters pointed out in this excellent piece, Arkansas won the Southeastern Conference regular season title in the 1991-2 season after moving over from the now-defunct Southwest Athletic Conference.
“If you look at those teams, how many had been league champions in their old league in the past 10 years?” ESPN’s Jay Bilas told Waters. “Syracuse is a power. You don’t often see the power of a league switch leagues. It doesn’t happen that often. Usually, teams in a power position in a league remain in that league.”
Syracuse joins Pittsburgh and Notre Dame in the new-look ACC, but among those schools Syracuse — led by stud freshman point guard Tyler Ennis — is the only one in danger of winning the ACC.
The Orange play Duke twice and North Carolina once — in games that could well determine the league winner.
“In Syracuse’s favor, after all those years in Big East, Syracuse is more suited than most teams to play in a new league because of all the styles they faced in the Big East,” Bilas said.
Here’s Waters’ breakdown on how previous teams switching leagues in power conferences did:
