While things weren't always easy, Syracuse did end up beating Cornell by 22 on Friday night, behind Trevor Cooney's 27 points. As a reward, the Orange dropped one spot in the AP Poll to No. 9.
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Really? Really. Once tied with Oklahoma State at eighth, Syracuse's 22-point win was obviously not enough for the AP voters to keep SU exactly where they were the week before. The Cowboys beat a far more horrendous team than SU did, Mississippi Valley State, by a score of 116-72 and that netted them 31 more votes than last week. Syracuse lost six votes compared to last week. Despite winning by 22 without Jerami Grant.
Of course, it's very early and these polls don't matter. But that's not the point. Or maybe it is. Whether it's a nonsensical grudge against the Orange, or a "complex" formula, it always seems as if there's a reason to knock this team over the past few (30) years. However, at the end of the day, all that matters is being No. 1 at the end of the season. For your reference just the same, however, here's a link to PollSpeak, so we can do our typical razzing of those we seem to underestimate the Orange.
Highest Ranking: Tom Keegan (No. 5)
Lowest Ranking: Ron Morris (No. 20) "SURPRISE!"
Who Dropped Us in Comparison to Week 1: Scott Mansch (-3), Ed Graney (-2), John Feinstein (-2), Michael Hunt (-2), Andrew Greif (-1), Cormac Gordon (-1), Gary Williams (-1), Kevin Brockway (-1)
Who Boosted Us in Comparison to Week 1: Kelly Hines (+2), Mike Barber (+1), Rick Bozich (+1), Jason Franchuk (+1), Bret Strelow (+1), Aaron Brenner (+1)
#AddThemToTheList? Or Don't. Seems that even coming off a Final Four berth, us Syracuse fans are still exactly who were were before. Which is fine, by the way.
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Oh, and if you want to see a poll that didn't knock us down at all, I direct you to the USA Today Coach's Poll.
