After losing three-straight games Syracuse (4-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) will play Georgia Tech (4-2, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday at noon. Both teams most recently played in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, in which Georgia Tech defeated Nebraska and Syraucse lost to Iowa.

Below are our beat writer’s predictions on Saturday’s outcome:

Nick Alvarez (8-0)
I hate you bees
Georgia Tech 68, Syracuse 63

Syracuse’s average margin of defeat over the last three games? 16.3. The Orange aren’t just in a skid, they’ve been a bad team shelled in front of three-straight national audiences. A trip to Atlanta won’t bring any reprieve. The Yellow Jackets aren’t as good as Penn State, Iowa or Oklahoma State, but their top-30 defense should be enough to handle a struggling SU offense. Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III haven’t shot their way out of slumps and GT allows only 27% of opponent’s 3s to fall (23rd in the nation). When SU inevitably looks inside, it’ll find a team with the eighth-best block percentage (17.1%) in Division I. This isn’t the same Georgia Tech team that’s underperformed in year’s past – expect the Orange’s woes to continue.

Michael McCleary (6-2)
That stings
Georgia Tech 73, Syracuse 60

I’ve been nice to Syracuse in my predictions recently and it’s resulted in me finding myself in last place. If you knew my competition, you’d understand why I’m so upset. We’re up to game nine of the “15 to 20 games” timetable SU head coach Jim Boeheim set for his young team to figure things out. It looks like Syracuse will need some kind of miracle to succeed in the lower end of that timeframe. The Orange are struggling on offense, in the interior and from outside. With two steals a contest, GT’s Khalid Moore measures up as one of the best perimeter defenders in the ACC. James Banks III’s 4.67 blocks per game ranks him as the best shot blocker in the country. Those strong defensive forces aren’t visible in Georgia Tech’s 26th-ranked defensive efficiency, per KenPom. Accounting for those impact defenders, in combination with Michael Devoe’s 23.4 points per game, a bounce back game for Syracuse isn’t likely.

Josh Schafer (7-1)
Stumbling and bumbling
Georgia Tech 71, Syracuse 62

After Syracuse’s loss to Iowa on Tuesday, Jim Boeheim didn’t provide any reason to believe this Syracuse team is going to improve instantly. The Orange can’t currently score at the clip they’ll need in order to compete in the ACC. On Saturday, that struggling offense will meet Georgia Tech’s matchup zone defense that’s allowing the third lowest effective field goal percentage in the country. The Yellow Jackets have two forwards averaging close to a double-double who could be an issue for the Orange in the paint. That’s not even including the offense provided by Michael Devoe, who’s averaging 23.8 points per game. The Yellow Jackets are traditionally a team Syracuse beats in good years, and it’s starting to feel like it won’t be one of those years.

Published on December 6, 2019 at 5:19 pm