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:
| Team (conference) | year | record | finish |
| Florida State (ACC) | 1991-92 | 11-5 | 2nd |
| Virginia Tech (ACC) | 2004-05 | 8-8 | t-4th |
| Miami (ACC) | 2004-05 | 7-9 | t-6th |
| Boston College (ACC) | 2005-06 | 11-5 | 3rd |
| West Virginia (Big 12) | 2012-13 | 6-12 | 8th |
| Penn State (Big Ten) | 1992-93 | 2-16 | 11th |
| Nebraska (Big Ten) | 2011-12 | 4-14 | t-11th |
| Miami (Big East) | 1991-92 | 1-17 | 10th |
| Rutgers (Big East) | 1995-96 | 6-12 | 6th in BE7 |
| West Virginia (Big East) | 1995-96 | 7-11 | 4th in BE6 |
| Notre Dame (Big East) | 1995-96 | 4-14 | 6th in BE6 |
| Virginia Tech (Big East) | 2000-01 | 2-14 | 7th in East |
| Marquette (Big East) | 2005-06 | 10-6 | t-4th |
| Cincinnati (Big East) | 2005-06 | 8-8 | 8th |
| Louisville (Big East) | 2005-06 | 6-10 | t-11th |
| DePaul (Big East) | 2005-06 | 5-11 | t-13th |
| South Florida (Big East) | 2005-06 | 1-15 | 16th |
| Colorado (Pac-12) | 2011-12 | 11-7 | t-5th |
| Utah (Pac-12) | 2011-12 | 3-15 | 11th |
| Arkansas (SEC) | 1991-92 | 13-3 | 1st |
| South Carolina (SEC) | 1991-92 | 3-13 | 6th in East |
| Missouri (SEC) | 2012-13 | 11-7 | t-5th |
| Texas A&M (SEC) | 2012-13 | 7-11 | 11th |
