Phil D’Abbraccio (9-2): Syracuse 66, Long Beach State 54
Sun of a beach
Give Long Beach State credit for playing such a tough schedule so far, but this isn’t a matchup that bodes well for the 49ers. They coughed up 17 turnovers against a small St. John’s lineup on Monday, and now face the length of Syracuse’s 2-3 zone. And although the Orange has battled with foul trouble, Long Beach State is only shooting 63.7 percent from the line. It should be another day at the beach for Syracuse and its nonconference track record in the Carrier Dome.

Jesse Dougherty (9-2): Syracuse 68, Long Beach State 49
Long way from home
Syracuse comes out with a holiday hangover but ultimately runs past Long Beach State in the Carrier Dome. Trevor Cooney, who’s buried early-season shooting struggles with a string of good performances, continues his upward swing and keys the Orange offense. SU’s frontcourt doesn’t let Cooney steal the whole show, and dominates on both ends in a lopsided post-Christmas win.

Jacob Klinger (9-2): Syracuse 70, Long Beach State 61
Beaches ain’t sh*t
Long Beach State is small, young and all too accustomed to running traditional power programs close, only to fall apart in the second half. Syracuse is far from the traditional height of its powers and the 49ers are a good shooting team — 38.6 percent from 3 this season — but the Orange should clean the boards enough to have an off shooting night itself and still come out on top.