Another road game….gulp
The Syracuse Orange (16-10, 7-8) are on the road tonight to take on the NC State Wolfpack (16-9, 8-8). Syracuse won the first meeting between the teams and need this one if they want to have a chance to break out of one logjam and move into a logjam higher up in the ACC standings.
Before the game tips at 7:00 on ESPN2, here are our predictions:
Kevin: NC State 75, Syracuse 71
The Orange don’t inspire much confidence on the road and it’s hard to see this thin roster getting over the hump in Raleigh. At this point you have to hope that Syracuse has five players with solid to strong games for the Orange to win. Is it enough to slow down DJ Horne and DJ Burns? Unless there’s more help inside for Maliq Brown, it could be another frustrating night for Syracuse faithful.
Finn: NC State 69, Syracuse 66
I just don’t see the inspiration being there for the Orange to pick up a tough road win. For starters, the Orange are 2-6 on the road. The Wolfpack are 11-3 at home and have had an outstanding track record in the PNC Arena over the last few seasons. This home form has inspired them to big wins against UVA, Wake, and Georgia Tech. The Orange have lost three on the bounce away from home and will likely struggle again to find consistency shooting the ball from outside.
Dom: NC State 73, Syracuse 67
Even if Syracuse’s offense plays as well as it did last time around, it’s hard to believe NC State will shoot under 36% from the field like the Wolfpack did in their last game versus the Orange. The Mintz-Starling should fare well on offense and the rest of the team can step up defensively, but there’s too many concerns with rebounding and depth for the Orange. It’s tough to see Syracuse leaving Raleigh with a win unless the Orange’s offense can remain consistent from start to finish.
Szuba: Syracuse 74, NC State 71
This pick might not make much sense on its face, but I’m going to refrain from doing the one-game look-back when making predictions and focus more on the matchup. The Wolfpack is playing well of late, but Syracuse really had its way in the first meeting behind JJ Starling and Judah Mintz — the latter should be able to get back to the free throw line tonight. DJ Burns will be more of a factor this time around but the zone should mitigate his low-post, back-to-the-basket game, not to mention a poor outside shooting team. Yes, NC State will win the rebounding battle but NC State isn’t a great rebounding team on either end of the floor and Syracuse should generate enough turnovers to keep the scales from tilting. The Orange win its seventh straight against NC State.
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Now it’s your turn: