Will we see a new Hoya Destroya emerge?
The Syracuse Orange and Georgetown Hoyas renew their rivalry tomorrow in Washington. It’s an old school battle so here’s what we predict:
Kevin: Syracuse 78, Georgetown 74
Georgetown wants to shoot a lot of 3s and Syracuse is going to have to be aware of Jayden Epps and Ismael Massoud. On defense, the Hoyas don’t do a good job of guarding inside the arc so Syracuse needs to attack the paint early and often. I think the Orange get some supplemental scoring from Naheem McLeod and JJ Starling to hold off the Hoyas.
Dom: Syracuse 74, Georgetown 67
The offense isn’t going well for either team, and this one could be decided by a small scoring run here or there. Judah Mintz being the best player on the court is a substantial factor. As much as the Orange have some (possible) concerns with depth, Georgetown still fares worse in that department in comparison. G-Town guard Jayden Epps (19.1 PPG, 4.5 APG, 48% shooting, 46% from three) needs to be locked down at all times for SU to come out on top.
Max: Georgetown 75, Syracuse 70
Gotta go with my heart on this one. The Hoyas shoot the ball better from 2-point and 3-point range (51.2%, 39%) than the Orange do (47.3%, 31.2%), and they also thrive on the offensive glass. I think the latter will wear SU rebounders down as the game goes on. Benny Williams could help on the boards, but up to this point, I have no reason to believe he’ll be available in the nation’s capital.
Mike: Syracuse 67, Georgetown 63
The early start time will result in some sluggishness but I think the scoring picks up by the end of the first half. The Orange can wear down the Hoyas with precision passing and running down the shot clock, giving them the advantage via their bench. Echoing Max’s point about Benny: I’m begging Red to either play him or don’t even bring him along – it’s a distraction the rest of the team can’t afford to have during this critical stretch of toss-ups.
Szuba: Georgetown 78, Syracuse 75
Ed Cooley will have his team ready to play coming off a buzzer-beating loss to TCU. The Hoyas should’ve won that game but an out of bounds call was missed. Epps and Dontrez Styles give Georgetown two dynamic guards that run the show and while the Orange offense should operate fine against the Hoyas defense, I don’t know that Syracuse is playing its best basketball just yet. This game might come down to whether Syracuse can turn the Hoyas over, because winning the rebounding battle will be a trying endeavor. Tough road environment against a middling Hoyas team that just got better with Massoud, the sharpshooting Kansas State transfer, back from injury.
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Now it’s your turn