It’s a rematch of the 1987 National Championship game as two 2-0 squads meet in Indianapolis tonight. It’s technically a neutral site game between the Syracuse Orange and Indiana Hoosiers, but it’s likely a lot of red and white in Gainbridge Fieldhouse tonight.
The game tips at 6:30 on FS1 and here’s what we’re predicting
Dom: Syracuse 76, Indiana 72
Too much is unknown to feel good about any prediction heading into this one, but I think Syracuse has the perimeter depth and defense to match what Indiana
brings to the table. The frontcourt battle will be interesting to see who contains seven-foot Indiana forward Aiden Sherrell, but if Sadiq White Jr. can play him to a draw and the Orange execute defensively as well as Thursday night, they can squeeze out a close but impressive win.
Max: Syracuse 78, Indiana 71
As Dom said, a lot of unknown heading into this matchup. I believe Syracuse though can compose themselves against a good competitor and add a solid win to their resume. Amarri Monroe hopefully continues his momentum from the last game along with Saddiq White and Luke Wilson contributing all over the place.
Szuba: Indiana 72, Syracuse 59
No shortage of former ACC players on this Indiana roster with Darren Harris, Markus Burton and Samet Yigitoglu. Indiana should have an advantage inside with 7-footer Aiden Sherrell and the 7-foot-2 Yigitoglu. This Syracuse team has been somewhere between fair and good when rebounding the ball against low-majors, but hasn’t proven itself on the glass just yet. The Hoosiers should be a real test for the Syracuse defense against a team chock-full of guards and wings who can really score the ball, so give me a fast-paced Darian DeVries team by double-digits in a de facto home game for the program’s first win (in seven tries) against Syracuse since the 1987 National Championship (*ducks*).
Kevin: Indiana 76, Syracuse 68
Indiana added a lot of P4 players and they’ve got size inside along with strong perimeter play. I’m not sure the Orange can match up with them without Aidan Tobiason in the line-up and I’m worried about how Syracuse will hold up on the glass against the twin towers from Bloomington. We’ll get a good idea of how well Mark Morano and Ryan Moesch will fare defensively against better players in this one. Expect a tight game that the Hoosiers survive thanks to a bit more offensive balance.
Sam: Indiana 73, Syracuse 70
I think Indiana just has more paths to winning this game. Garwey Dual simply hasn’t looked good enough yet for me to truly trust this Syracuse backcourt defense to the level that I need to and have been assuming over the offseason, and thus, I’d lean towards the Hoosiers with more offensive dynamism on the perimeter along with the physicality on the inside. If you’re a two-big team like IU, I don’t think Syracuse has the shooters to spread you out and take the game outside the paint at this point, even if I like the one-on-one matchups on the perimeter for SU.
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Now it’s your turn:
