Syracuse Basketball: Latest Updates on Orange's Top 2015 Targets

After dropping its first ACC game over the weekend, the Syracuse basketball team rebounded with a win over Boston College on Tuesday at the Carrier Dome.

Despite foul trouble for Rakeem Christmas, the Orange were able to keep the Eagles at arm's length and hold on for a 69-61 victory. The soft start to the ACC slate is over, and the Orange will next welcome the Miami Hurricanes—who have already beaten Duke and Florida—to the Dome on Saturday.

The game against Boston College was telling for the Orange. Christmas was forced to sit much of the second half with four fouls, and Syracuse struggled to find continuity on offense with its go-to scorer on the pine. The Orange did have five players score in double figures, but it was still barely enough to hold off BC.

While Syracuse only has six players who can contribute this year, reinforcements are on the way next season. Per 247Sports, Syracuse has the nation's eighth-best recruiting class for 2015. The class consists of four 4-star (according to 247Sports) players: guards Franklin Howard and Malachi Richardson, and forwards Tyler Lydon and Moustapha Diagne.

As of now—as Mike Waters of Syracuse.com points out—the Orange are at the NCAA maximum of scholarships for next season with the four incoming freshmen.

However, Jim Boeheim is still hot on the trail of Thomas Bryant, a center who grew up in Rochester but now goes to prep school in West Virginia.

If Syracuse landed Bryant, he would be the crown jewel of the recruiting class. With Christmas in his last year, Syracuse will be thin at center come next season, so adding a talented big man like Bryant would help immensely.

But where would Boeheim get a scholarship? As Waters said, the thought was Chris McCullough would enter the NBA draft, but that is a less likely option after his season-ending ACL injury. Waters said his feeling is that "one or two players on SU's current roster will consider transferring."

In addition to the scholarship hang-up, Syracuse is starting to get some competition from other high-profile schools. In fact, the highest-profile school is starting to covet Bryant. Recruiting extraordinaire and Kentucky coach John Calipari has recently set his sights on Bryant, according to Steve Jones of The Courier-Journal.

Jones said Bryant likes how Calipari uses his big men and that he is a fan of Kentucky's platoon system. Kentucky has several big men (Willie Cauley-Stein, Karl Towns), who could leave after this season, so there would be just as much opportunity for Bryant to play at Kentucky as at Syracuse.

Bryant is expected to make his decision sometime in March.

Even though Bryant is the only player Syracuse is still seriously pursuing, some of the signed recruits are starting to turn heads.

Perhaps no one is turning more heads than Lydon, the 6'9" forward from Pine Plains, New York. Lydon has been billed as a shooter, which the Orange surely need, but he is starting to show he can do more than make it rain.

In the Hoophall Classic, Lydon showed his game is extensive, as he was named the MVP of Sunday's contest, according to Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com. Lydon recorded 12 points (without hitting a three), seven rebounds and two assists in the game.

Ditota also noted how opposing coaches remarked on how hard Lydon plays. He was chasing loose balls to the floor and getting physical on the interior. If he is able to add to his slender frame, he should be able to work as a solid contributor for the Orange.

With or without Bryant, Boeheim will still have an excellent recruiting class come the 2015-16 season. Considering the current team's lack of depth, the backup can't come soon enough.