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Syracuse closes its regular-season schedule with a home matchup Wednesday against Clemson (15-5, 9-5 Atlantic Coast), who defeated the Orange by 17 points at Littlejohn Coliseum in February. The Tigers went on a hot streak after beating the Orange, going undefeated since Jan. 30. 

Behind Buddy Boeheim’s 26 points, Syracuse (14-8, 8-7) defeated North Carolina on Monday to bring its season closer to the bubble. 

Here’s what The Daily Orange’s three beat writers think will happen in Syracuse’s regular season finale:

Andrew Crane (14-8)
Tiger king
Clemson 65, Syracuse 59

At this point, there are too many uncertainties regarding injuries that it’s difficult to pick the Orange heading into the game. Kadary Richmond’s limp off the court, as well as the ice bag strapped to his leg minutes later, didn’t look good at all. Syracuse doesn’t win this game without him. 

Quincy Guerrier could be limited or out again too, stemming from his injury suffered against Georgia Tech. But either way, Clemson’s tight perimeter defense is strong enough to keep the Orange’s shooters contained, and without Bourama Sidibe, look for Aamir Simms to consistently find success within the paint — complementing the 3-pointers from Nick Honor.

Anthony Dabbundo (17-5)
Clawing back
Syracuse 68, Clemson 64

There are about a dozen takeaways from the Orange’s win against North Carolina. On one hand, Syracuse needed a terrible shooting night from the Tar Heels to pull off the upset. Then, they had almost nothing from Alan Griffin and still managed the win. The emergence of Jesse Edwards, the increased playing time for Richmond and the motivational mismatch tip this toss-up game toward the Orange.

Clemson is still one of the seven luckiest teams in the country, and if it’s close late, SU has a significant free-throw edge. The Tigers might come to the Dome and blow out Syracuse and make me look dumb, but the Orange are 12-1 at home for a reason and Clemson is safely in the NCAA Tournament by now. They don’t need this game like the Orange do. 

Syracuse gets revenge for its blowout loss to Clemson last month and claws its way firmly onto the bubble with a win against the Tigers on Wednesday evening. 

Danny Emerman (14-8)
It’s simmple
Clemson 77, Syracuse 64

The win over North Carolina was gutsy, but it came at a cost. Richmond and Guerrier, who were both banged up entering the game, exited early. Jim Boeheim was somewhat optimistic postgame about both of them, but SU needs each of them at full strength to compete against any ACC team, let alone one that can punish the Orange inside similar to UNC. 

Despite losing the rebounding battle by 20, Syracuse held up in the paint by inserting Edwards into the center spot, moving Marek Dolezaj to the block and effectively boosting rim protection. Guerrier is also key for interior defense when he’s engaged and playing physically. Syracuse just barely scraped by the Tar Heels, and I don’t have much faith that SU can put together two straight performances like that. 

Clemson outrebounded SU by 17 in the first matchup, and Simms (18 points, 11 rebounds) had his way. Especially with Richmond and Guerrier less than 100% healthy, Syracuse won’t be able to stop him. It’s a bad time of the year for the injury bug, and it’ll be too much for SU to overcome.

Published on March 2, 2021 at 10:56 pm