Syracuse vs. Morehead State: TNIAAM predictions and poll

After a perfect week — perfect meaning everybody picked the correct winner — the TNIAAM team is back with their game predictions. The Syracuse Orange will look to move to 2-0 Saturday night against the Morehead State Eagles after winning their opener Tuesday night.

The defense showed up in game one, but the Orange will need to improve their perimeter shooting if they want to continue their perfect start to the season.

Andrew Godnick

Syracuse 79, Morehead State 52

The Orange will get hot from deep thanks to Elijah Hughes and Buddy Boeheim, but it’ll be Tyus Battle’s attacking play that will separate the Orange from the Eagles. Battle has struggled to find his rhythm in the early part to the season, but a more aggressive start to the game will set the tone for their star guard and the team in general.

Kevin Wall

Syracuse 79, Morehead State 57

Looking for Tyus Battle to have a much better game this time out. I’d suspect Jalen Carey’s healthy enough to start moving Battle off the ball where he’s more comfortable. The Orange offense was pretty poor in the opener, so I’d look for better movement and shooting. I suspect we’ll still see a lot of the press as it can be an effective weapon for this team during this season.

James Szuba

Syracuse 78, Morehead State 49

Between the first game of the season against Eastern Washington and the two exhibition contests we’ve seen just how imperative it is to have a point guard that’s healthy on this team, especially as it relates to Tyus Battle. In my opinion, Battle hasn’t been able to find his groove in the early season because he’s playing the unnatural position of lead guard, but I think that changes tonight if Jalen Carey steps into the starting point guard spot. Frank Howard likely won’t go, but look for Oshae Brissett, Elijah Hughes and Battle to carry the weight of the offense. Defensively, Syracuse locks down in the zone and gets more practice in the full court press. SU wins by just under 30 points.

John Cassillo

Syracuse 72, Morehead State 48

Morehead State’s not a great defensive team, so expect the Orange to test some things out and try to get more shooters going beyond Oshae Brissett. If shots aren’t falling, that could mean a lower score than expected, but I’d rather they work out some of the offensive issues than run up a big number on a lesser squad. Expect sound defense once again, and hopefully we get to see a bit more point guard play than last week. This team needs more ball movement if they want to score at a better rate than 2017-18.