Syracuse (13-6, 2-4 Atlantic Coast) faces Boston College (13-7, 3-4) on Wednesday in the Carrier Dome. Last season, the Orange visited Conte Forum on New Year’s Day and got a bloody nose from Ky Bowman and the Eagles, losing 96-81. Less than two weeks later, BC came to the Dome and lost, spoiling its chance to sweep the season series with SU. The two sides haven’t faced off this season, but our beat writers are split about who will get a win.

Matthew Gutierrez (17-2)
Eye of the Eagle
Boston College 64, Syracuse 57

Remember last year at Conte Forum, where Ky Bowman drilled 7 of 8 3s in BC’s 96-point outburst against the Orange? There’s no way the Eagles will reach the 90-point threshold this time, especially on the road against a solid defensive team.

But Boston College will shoot it. Jim Christian’s offense is more efficient than it has been in years past  — the Eagles went 10-62 in ACC play over the past four seasons. That’s been enough to beat Duke, Wake Forest and Florida State, as well as nearly beating Virginia and Clemson.

Jerome Robinson and Jordan Chatman are taking care of the ball while seeing upticks in their 3-point shooting percentages. Wednesday evening, the Eagles will knock down open 3s for a road victory.

Sam Fortier (15-4)
Bye Eagles Bye
Syracuse 63, Boston College 58

The Orange will burst out of its longest layoff of the season and get the best of an Eagles team playing its second tough road game in four days. Boston College, for all its growth, is still one of the youngest teams in the country — though still older than Syracuse, on average — and it will take a near-flawless night to beat Syracuse in the Dome.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim called BC one of the country’s best 3-point shooting teams and, though statistics don’t necessarily support that, it would be one way for BC to take advantage of the Orange’s 2-3 zone and its struggles to defend the perimeter this season. Still, fresh legs will prevail as Syracuse locks down on the outside and grinds out a victory.

Tomer Langer (14-5)
Going streaking
Syracuse 68, Boston College 61

It’s true that Boston College is improved and has a good young core of Bowman and Robinson, with the former being an all-around threat and the latter being absolutely lethal from beyond the arc. There are two problems for the Eagles, though. The first is that they’re just 2-6 away from home. The other is that BC lacks a true scoring threat in the paint.

Last year, when the Eagles obliterated the Orange at Conte Forum, SU spent too much time scrambling toward the posts, even though those weren’t serious threats to score.

The Orange is well rested, as Sam mentioned. Center Paschal Chukwu, who has seen a large uptick of minutes in ACC play with Bourama Sidibe limited, probably needed the break more than anyone and should be fresh defending the paint. Syracuse should be able to push out its zone to limit BC’s guards, and expect Tyus Battle and Frank Howard to be more effective on offense with the extra rest.

Published on January 23, 2018 at 9:27 pm