Syracuse (1-0) takes on Iona (0-1) Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. The Orange is coming off a 77-45 season-opening win over Cornell while the Gaels got nipped by Albany, 69-67. Tyus Battle led all scorers with 18 points against the Big Red, while Geno Thorpe and Oshae Brissett chipped in 12 and 11, respectively. Bourama Sidibe and Matthew Moyer led the way on the glass with 10 rebounds apiece. Our beat writers make picks and discuss Syracuse’s second game of the season.

Sam Fortier (1-0)
Iona U
Syracuse 62, Iona 51

Syracuse played another traditional Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team last season in Monmouth and dispatched them 71-50. Granted, this is a more inexperienced Syracuse but the Gaels are weakened too by losses of its top three scorers. If the Gaels shoot well from beyond the arc, then the team could win, but right now that seems too unlikely to pick.

Matthew Gutierrez (1-0)
Gael force
Syracuse 66, Iona 57

Don’t sleep on the Gaels, an up-tempo, 3-point-heavy team that matches up well against the 2-3 zone. Iona is coming off of a MAAC title and NCAA Tournament appearance, but the Gaels lost its top three scorers and top two rebounders from a year ago. The Orange will sneak away with a victory and improve to 2-0 in what’s probably its toughest nonconference game until Maryland visits at the end of the month.

Tomer Langer (1-0)
Back-to-back
Syracuse 72, Iona 56

Iona is a better team than Cornell is, but it’s missing a lot of its pieces from last year’s 22-13 team, namely its top three scorers. Like Sam said, if Iona gets hot behind the arc, because it will put up a lot of shots, then it has a chance. But the Gaels made just 4-of-22 3-pointers against Albany to start off their season. Until I see something different, I imagine Syracuse will start off slowly in the first half but will pull away in the second.