Syracuse (17-13, 10-9 Atlantic Coast) ends its regular-season against Miami (14-15, 6-13) at 4 p.m. at the Watsco Center. The Orange have won three of four while the Hurricanes have dropped three-straight. 

Here are what our men’s basketball beat writers foresee happening Saturday afternoon. 

Nick Alvarez (21-9)
(Tua to Miami @ 5)
Syracuse 73, Miami 61

So I really like the fit with Tagovailoa in a Chan Gailey-led offense. There are other holes on the roster… Wait, the men’s basketball regular season is still going on? Alright, the Orange’s 3-point defense has been spotty, but Miami isn’t a real threat from behind the arc. And the Hurricanes also are averaging just over 50 points in their last two games. These teams may meet again in the ACC tournament, and the result might differ in a neutral setting, but Syracuse should handle the Hurricanes on Saturday.

Michael McCleary (20-10)
Heating up
Syracuse 76, Miami 59

Okay, so Syracuse isn’t bad, they’re just not quite good enough. Jim Boeheim has made note of that several times before. And that’s an important distinction. As the Orange venture to a much, much warmer climate, it’s reasonable to think that the “nothing to lose” mindset kicks in a little earlier than the ACC tournament. Miami has been struggling, and Syracuse is a team that can make some noise, whether positively or negatively. This is not the game that Syracuse flames out, and the Orange get a dominant win ahead of the crucial conference tournament.

Josh Schafer (21-9)
Storm chasers
Syracuse 78, Miami 68

As I’ve said all year, there is a clear formula to beating Syracuse, and Miami doesn’t immediately pass the quick test. The Hurricanes aren’t a great 3-point shooting team (31.8 %) and don’t have a dominating low-block presence. So it’s hard to expect Miami to play abnormally well against Syracuse on Saturday. The Hurricanes don’t protect the offensive glass well, which could lead to a big day for Bourama Sidibe — who’s played well recently. Miami has lost its last three games and most recently struggled offensively in defeats against Georgia Tech and Virginia. This game will be a good case study on the state of the Syracuse defense heading into the conference tournament.

Published on March 7, 2020 at 8:12 am