In Jim Boeheim’s second contest back from his nine-game suspension, Syracuse (10-7, 0-4 Atlantic Coast) will be trying to avoid losing five games in a row for the first time since the 1968-1969 season. Boston College (7-8, 0-2) has struggled so far this season with losses to UMass Lowell, UC Irvine and Santa Clara. In the Eagles’ last game, which came against Notre Dame, BC was blown out, 82-54.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse will handle Boston College.

Sam Blum (12-5)
Syracuse 81, Boston College 59
Flying high

Syracuse has had a rough go of it in the ACC. The Orange has played well and held second-half leads on three of the nation’s best teams. On Wednesday, SU breaks through with a win over arguably the worst power-conference team in college basketball. Michael Gbinije will have a career scoring night, and all will be well as SU prepares for a run through North Carolina.

Jesse Dougherty (12-5)
Syracuse 64, Boston College 57
First one’s hardest to get

And Syracuse proves that with an ugly win over the Eagles on Wednesday night. Nothing has come easy for the Orange this season, and a win against a team that Kenpom.com is predicting to lose the rest of its games is no different. Boston College plays the underdog role well, packing its defense into the paint and making some absurd 3s over top the SU zone. But Syracuse shoots itself in the foot for most of the game until it snaps out a funk and captures that coveted first conference win. Next up is a pair of games in North Carolina, and they won’t be near as winnable.

Matt Schneidman (11-6)
Syracuse 78, Boston College 60
Boston market

Points will be open for taking Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome and Syracuse will have plenty of chances to work out some of the kinks that have plagued it through the first four games of conference play. The Eagles lost their two best players from last season and rank among the worst in Division I in Kenpom’s adjusted offensive efficiency rating. Add on that they have six freshmen playing 9.7 minutes or more per game and SU should be able to scrap together its much-needed first ACC win.

Published on January 12, 2016 at 2:52 pm