After losing 89-79 to Georgetown last Saturday, Syracuse (5-5, 1-1 Atlantic Coast)  hosts Oakland (5-6) on Wednesday night. 

Below, The Daily Orange beat writers predict how Syracuse will fare for the 8 p.m. tip-off. 

Nick Alvarez (8-2)
Jinxed it
Syracuse 74, Oakland 60

I should’ve known better, right? Syracuse laid an egg against Georgetown, continuing a historically poor start to its season. Luckily, Oakland isn’t a top-flight program. It’s not even Georgetown.  The last time these two squads played in 2017, Oakland hung around in the second half before SU’s best player — Tyus Battle — took over. Expect Elijah Hughes to do the same and Buddy Boeheim’s hot shooting to complement a few air guitars. Look for Quincy Guerrier to respond to 17 total minutes over the last two games, as the impending garbage time should give the freshman time to grow. Wednesday night should kick off a three-game winning streak in a relatively stress-free fashion.

Michael McCleary (6-4)
The lake area
Syracuse 80, Oakland 62

The Orange are 4-0 against Quadrant 4 teams this year. Frankly, those are the only teams it seems the Orange can beat. Regardless of winning or losing, Syracuse hasn’t finished a game within 10 points of an opponent so far this year. Jim Boeheim said after the narrowest loss of the season, a 10-point defeat by Georgetown, that SU is in a better spot than most people are saying they’re in. Who knows who “most people” are, but if he meant the people who will put the next three games (all presumably Quadrant 4 teams) in question, then I guess I don’t belong among them. Syracuse will win big. Don’t expect their problems to disappear when the do.

Josh Schafer (7-3)
Bear bones
Syracuse 75 Oakland 58

Oakland’s offense isn’t good and the Grizzlies haven’t beaten anyone inside the Kenpom top 150 teams. The Grizzlies shoot 27.8 percent from beyond the arc, one of the worst marks in the country and their 45 percent effective field goal percentage ranks 291st nationally. So after a dismal defensive performance against Georgetown, Syracuse’s defense may bounce back by default. After a tough stretch of games, Oakland should be the kind of blowout win Syracuse needs to slowly get back on track.