Syracuse men’s basketball: predictions and poll for Northeastern

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team returns to the JMA Wireless Dome for an early evening tip against the 0-3 Northeastern Huskies

Syracuse will look to avoid back-to-back losses early in the season as this starts a stretch of four games in eight days and even though it’s early, it looks like the Orange can’t bank on ACC play to build a strong NCAA resume.

Here’s our predictions:

Kevin

Syracuse 85, Northeastern 67

Can’t imagine it’s been a fun week for the Orange who gave Jim Boeheim an early birthday loss. This team is going to have ups and downs due to their youth, but this is one that Syracuse needs to get out early and let Boeheim get some of his players more minutes. It would be great for Chris Bell and Justin Taylor to see some shots go down in this one. With two games in Brooklyn followed by a visit from Bryant, the Orange need to avoid playing their starters heavy minutes.

Szuba

Syracuse 88, Northeastern 70

Syracuse will win this game. This 0-3 Northeastern team doesn’t stand out in any statistical category and doesn’t pose as much of a threat as Colgate. If the Syracuse defense can just focus on Jahmyl Telfort and locate Coleman Stucke on the perimeter I think this team bounces back with a double digit win. The Huskies don’t go over 6-foot-8 among its top eight players, so Jesse Edwards should be able to get position down low and look for Joe Girard to carry the offense.

Mike

Syracuse 88, Northeastern 67

The term “must-win game” gets pretty overused, but I’m going to be guilty of it right here. We can accept that Colgate was just the worst matchup possible at the time - if SU can bounce back and not get embarrassed against this team. No disrespect to the Huskies, but they are not on the same level as even a rebuilding Orange team. Boeheim’s bunch need to act like that and have a dominant outing to set the tempo for the rest of the non-conference schedule. Look for the bench to get much more involved as JAB figures out whether to roll with a three-guard look moving forward or stick with Bell/Taylor in the Starting Five.

Dom

Syracuse 83, Northeastern 66

After another disappointing loss courtesy of hot shooting from the Raiders, Syracuse will be facing a 0-3 Northeastern team that ranks toward the bottom in offensive efficiency. Heading into the matchup, the Huskies sit with just a 39% field goal percentage, and they are allowing opponents to shoot close to 50% from the field and 39% from three on 18 attempts per game. Expect a big game from Jesse Edwards, who can take advantage of a smaller, foul-prone Northeastern paint defense. As long as some of the Orange’s guards make their threes and prevent the Huskies from getting hot, this should be an easy win.

Christian

Syracuse 85, Northeastern 65

Ok this should be easy. Northeastern have only played one big opponent in Providence and that was a blowout loss. The Orange in theory should have the talent advantage over the Huskies. Like everyone else has mentioned, this needs to be a Jesse Edwards game, especially after the Dutchman was held relatively quiet compared to the expectations that fans have set. Beyond that, who’s going to score other than the two starting guards? Syracuse needs to use games like this to figure that out.

Now it’s your turn: