Syracuse vs. Northeastern: TNIAAM Predictions & Poll

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team went and tacked on another game in the middle of this week. So instead of staring at early signing period news all day, you can divert some attention to hoops for the afternoon.

SU’s game against the Northeastern Huskies starts at 3 p.m. ET at the Dome (and on ACC Network, for those that have). Before things tip off, here’s what the TNIAAM staff thinks is going to happen:

Ajayi

Syracuse 84, Northeastern 68

Defensively the Orange are favored in this matchup. Scoring the ball will be the only issue if you really want to call it that. Joe Girard is showing that he’s found his stroke according to the last game, Buddy Boeheim is back playing the game he loves under one of the best coaches of our lifetime, and Quincy Guerrier has just been on a different level lately. This should be a win for Syracuse by more than 10 points.

Christian

Syracuse 80, Northeastern 55

With an undersized opponent coming to the dome, expect Marek Dolezaj and Quincy Guerrier to have a big day. Ideally you’d like to see the ball more in the Slovakian’s hands in the middle of the shot clock so that he can distribute or drive. Northeastern doesn’t have a player above 6-foot-9 on its roster, so expect the paint to receive a lot of attention from the Orange on offense. The forwards should carry Syracuse to an easy victory.

John

Syracuse 88, Northeastern 70

Even if SU isn’t shooting as well vs. Northeastern as they did against BC, they’re still well-positioned offensively to put up a lot of points in this one. The question will be how they can keep the Huskies from getting quality shots from inside the arc. If Tyson Walker can get going, he could potentially create foul trouble for the Orange bigs (specifically Marek Dolezaj). Even if that happens, though, I think ‘Cuse still has enough firepower to grab a comfortable win.

Szuba

Syracuse 85, Northeastern 55

As someone who did immense scouting and knows Northeastern like the back of his hand, I’ll say Syracuse comes out and cruises to a 30-point victory. Of course, what I really mean is I did no scouting and know next to nothing about Northeastern. But seeing how it’s only the Huskies’ third game and second opponent and Syracuse blew the hinges off Boston College, the Orange should be able to handle this game without much strife.

Kevin

Syracuse 79, Northeastern 62

It’s a weird start time and I think the game is going to start a little slow as a result. The Orange should still have an easy time with these Huskies which will allow Jim Boeheim to tinker with his rotation. This could be an opportunity for Jon Bol Ajak, Jesse Edwards and Frank Anselem to show what they can do against Tyson Walker.

Now it’s your turn...