Syracuse is unfortunately in the midst of a March Madness drought, having last made the NCAA Tournament in 2021. This marks the first four-year stretch without an appearance since 1969–1972, making the class of 2025 the first in 53 years to graduate without experiencing March Madness as students.
Despite the absence, former Syracuse talent was still sprinkled throughout this year’s tournament.
With that, here is the All Former-Syracuse March Madness Team from this year’s Big Dance.
Starting with the former Orange point guard, Kadary Richmond played for Syracuse as a freshman back in the 2020–21 season, the last time they made the tournament. At the conclusion of the season, Richmond transferred to Seton Hall where he would spend three seasons before finally landing at St. John’s to exercise his fifth year of eligibility.
Richmond played an integral role for the Red Storm, who earned a 2-seed in the Tournament. He was one of the big three for Rick Pitino’s lineup, alongside Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis and forward Zuby Ejiofor.
Richmond averaged a strong stat line of 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He complimented Pitino’s coaching style and team identity well, as he was a tough-nosed and physical defender.
He averaged 2 steals per game and had a defensive rating of 90.1, which led the Big East.
The Red Storm finished with an impressive 30-4 record and were ranked fifth in the nation. In the first round, they beat 15-seed Omaha handily, 83-53, and Richmond put up a solid line of 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in 26 minutes.
In the second round, St. John’s faced 10-seeded Arkansas. The gritty Red Storm ran into problems with their lack of shooting, ultimately falling 75–66.
Richmond had a rough game, scoring 5 points and fouling out in the waning moments. That wraps up Richmond’s collegiate career, and although it wasn’t a pretty ending, he can hang his hat on a very solid basketball journey.
Moving to the shooting guard in this starting five, we have Brycen Goodine.
Goodine was at Syracuse for just his freshman season, which happened to be the shortened 2019–20 season. His time at Syracuse was rather flat and forgettable, although he made his mark by hitting a game-winning shot against Wake Forest in the Dome.
After leaving Syracuse, he bounced around, spending two years at Providence, two more at Fairfield, and finally finishing year six at Oklahoma.
Goodine’s collegiate career was mostly unremarkable until his last season at Fairfield, where he won MAAC Sixth Man of the Year and averaged 13.9 points per game.
This year at Oklahoma, he took a bit of a dip, starting in 19 out of 31 games and averaging 8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Nevertheless, Oklahoma finished the regular season 20-14, which was good enough for a 9-seed in the tournament. They were matched up against the back-to-back defending champion UConn Huskies.
It was a tough draw for OU. Although UConn had a slightly down year, it’s never easy to go against a coach like Dan Hurley in the Round of 64. The Sooners fell 67–59, and outside of future lottery pick Jeremiah Fears, no one could find a rhythm.
Goodine finished with 5 points, 4 steals, and 2 rebounds in 36 minutes on 1-of-6 shooting from the field.
Now to one of the two most recent Syracuse defectors, small forward Quadir Copeland.
In his first season away from Syracuse, Copeland averaged 9.2 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds. The Cowboys finished the regular season 27-6 and went on to win the Southland Conference, giving them an automatic bid into the tournament.
As a 12-seed, they drew Clemson in the Round of 64. McNeese emerged early as a potential Cinderella after a video of their student manager walking the team out of the tunnel went viral.
The McNeese-over-Clemson upset became so hyped that it felt too obvious. Nevertheless, McNeese pulled it off, winning 69–67 in a game that never truly felt close.
With 8 minutes left, McNeese led 51–29. Had they lost, it would have been one of the worst blown leads in recent memory.
Copeland was the team’s second-leading scorer with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in 30 minutes of action. Next, the Cowboys faced 4-seed Purdue.
This is where the magic completely ran out as McNeese looked overmatched, as four Purdue starters scored in double figures en route to a 76–62 win.
Copeland scored 9 points and had 4 assists but fouled out after 21 minutes.
Following the loss, Copeland entered the transfer portal and quickly committed to NC State along with teammate Alyn Breed. Both will be following their McNeese head coach, Will Wade, to Raleigh.
Moving on to the big men in this lineup, first is power forward Frank Anselem from Louisville.
Anselem played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Syracuse, starting in 2020 and staying through 2022. Both years were fairly unremarkable; he suited up for just four games as a freshman.
After his sophomore year, he transferred to Georgia, where he played his junior and senior seasons. Again, his impact was minimal, averaging 14.6 and 9.1 minutes per game in each season respectively.
For his fifth year, Anselem returned to the ACC and played for Louisville. This season, he appeared in 23 games, starting none and averaging just 3.7 minutes per outing.
Louisville finished the regular season 27-7, earning them an 8-seed in the tournament. They drew 9-seed Creighton in the first round, a very popular upset pick, with Creighton even being the betting favorite.
The Bluejays dominated the Cardinals, winning 89–75 in a game that was essentially over by halftime. Anselem did not appear in the game, concluding his collegiate career.
Rounding out the starting lineup is big man Maliq Brown, the second of the two most recent Syracuse transfers.
Despite a few injury hiccups, Brown had a productive season as a spark plug and versatile defender on a loaded Duke team with seven projected draft picks, including three lottery talents.
His raw stats don’t tell the full story, but his per-100 numbers are impressive: 9.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, 4.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks. He posted a 123.9 offensive rating and an 89.3 defensive rating, while leading the ACC in deflections.
Duke finished the regular season 31-3 and entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. Brown missed the first two rounds with injury, where Duke beat Mount St. Mary’s and Baylor with ease.
He returned for the Sweet 16 against Arizona, playing four minutes and contributing a rebound, assist, and steal in a 100–93 shootout win. He saw limited action again in the Elite Eight win over Alabama but played meaningful minutes in the Final Four loss to Houston.
In that game, Brown logged 15 minutes and delivered 4 points on 2-of-2 shooting, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Duke lost 70–67 after blowing a 5-point lead with just over a minute left, a crushing end to a special season.
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