Men's Basketball

Beat writers predict outcome of Syracuse-Connecticut men’s basketball game

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Syracuse and Connecticut will play at 7 p.m. on Monday.

No. 22 Syracuse (5-2) will face Connecticut (3-4) in Madison Square Garden on Monday at 7 p.m. Here’s how our beat writers think the game will turn out.

Connor Grossman (5-2)
Woof
Syracuse 64, UConn 60

This season’s matchup between the two former conference rivals has lost a little bit of its luster. By the time tipoff takes place at Madison Square Garden, Syracuse will likely be without a top 25 ranking affixed to the left of its name. It will be interesting to see how SU responds from a harrowing win over North Florida on Saturday. Tyus Battle should hold onto his starting spot and Jim Boeheim will see if he can extract any life of his bench, headlined by starter-turned-reserve senior Tyler Roberson.

Matt Schneidman (6-1)
Down and out
Syracuse 69, Connecticut 56

The Huskies come into Madison Square Garden with severely damaged goods, as Terry Larrier, Alterique Gilbert and Mamadou Diarra are all out for the season with injuries. Before the season this looked like it would be a matchup of top-20 teams, but now it may be a battle of unranked old friends looking to grab a much-needed nonconference win. The Orange capitalizes on the wounded Huskies and rides its new starting lineup to a double-digit win for its sixth win of the season.



Paul Schwedelson (6-1)
UConn Not Win
Syracuse 72, Connecticut 60

The Huskies’ fledgling season continues on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Three Connecticut players already sustained season-ending injuries and UConn has already lost four games. Jim Boeheim tinkered with Syracuse’s lineup against North Florida and Tyus Battle scored 19 in his first career start. With Andrew White playing at forward, the Orange could create matchups. In a return to Madison Square Garden against an old rival, expect SU to continue feeling its way through the nonconference season.





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