Syracuse men’s basketball vs Miami: TNIAAM predictions and poll

Looking to avoid a two-game ACC losing the Syracuse Orange (7-6, 1-1) men’s basketball team takes to the road to face the Miami Hurricanes (11-3, 3-0) on Wednesday at 8:00 pm. It’s a big game for two squads looking to build a NCAA Tournament resume.

So before these teams face off we’ll tell you what we think will happen tonight. And if you’re betting minded, perhaps you’ll find some appealing odds for the game over at DraftKings (odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details).

Kevin

Syracuse 84, Miami 82

Miami has really good perimeter players in Isaiah Wong and Kameron McGusty and in their 3 ACC wins the Hurricanes are averaging 10 made 3-pointers. Those two things do not bode well for Syracuse, but Miami only starts one player over 6’6” and they aren’t a great rebounding team. If Syracuse shows some patience on offense they should be able to get the ball inside enough to out-score Miami and grab an important conference road win.

John

Miami 80, Syracuse 76

As Jim Boeheim himself admits, Syracuse’s defense has been rough this year. And against a very efficient shooting team like Miami (top-50 in effective field goal percentage), that spells some bad news. Granted, Boeheim’s motivational tactics do frequently wind up spurring immediate adjustments, even if they’re not always lasting. But here, it’s just tough to see happening, especially since the game’s on the road.

Szuba

Syracuse 91, Miami 88

Call me crazy, but give me Syracuse in a high scoring game from Coral Gables. Miami is flying a little too close to the sun with seven straight wins and its best victory is over a so-so Clemson squad. The Syracuse zone has been “horrendous” but packing it in and turning Miami’s scoring troika of Wong, McGusty and Charlie Moore into shooters could be a recipe for success. That, and the Hurricanes’ interior play has been negligible. Defense and rebounding leaves much to be desired on both sides and although Miami will work Sam Waardenburg (Covid) in today, Jim Larranaga mentioned on Monday’s ACC Coaches Zoom that there will be concerns on his conditioning. For all of the reasons above, I’ll take Syracuse in a one possession shootout.

Christian

Miami 88, Syracuse 78

This game has all the makings of a barnburner for all the wrong reasons. As I’ve been saying a lot lately, defensive will probably be optional. Unfortunately, Syracuse continues to be wildly inconsistent with its offense and the Orange need to choose its shooters carefully. Joe Girard and Buddy Boeheim had great games last season, but that was supplemented by a strong inside effort from Quincy Guerrier. Jimmy Boeheim and Jesse Edwards need to help out, but the lack of defense won’t be enough for the Orange to hold off Miami.