The Syracuse Orange (14-11, 5-7) hope that an ACC win will be their Valentine tomorrow as they welcome the SMU Mustangs (17-7, 6-5) to the JMA Dome. Tune in tomorrow at 2:00 on The CW to see if the Orange can win a second in a row, and if the power stays on the whole game.
Here are our predictions:
Kevin: SMU 84, Syracuse 71
After the Cal game, it just seems like Syracuse will need an outstanding shooting night to keep pace with the Mustangs. I don’t think the perimeter matchup favors the Orange as
SMU will be able to find the mismatch on the outside and will eventually see this game slide away in the second half.
Dom: SMU 87, Syracuse 77
The good news: Syracuse can keep up with the Mustangs on offense. The bad news: SMU’s offense is really, really good. This is currently a team scoring the second-most points per game in the conference with top-three marks in field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. Sure, Syracuse could do better than a 6/25 clip from three like it had against Cal, but will that make up the deficit? Syracuse’s defense gets the better of itself.
Max: SMU 86, Syracuse 70
The Mustangs aren’t a team that will run you out of the gym, but as Kevin and Dom outlined, they are still much more efficient than the Orange. I’m seeing SMU coming in at around a nine-seed in the NCAA Tournament per the “bracketologists,” and I expect the visitors to boost their resume further with a convincing road win. Not only does Boopie Miller have a great name, but he also is a bucket and will carve up the ‘Cuse D for his third straight 20-point game.
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What’s your prediction for this one?
