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Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry singled out his team’s 83-63 win over Oregon on Dec. 17 as its “best game of the season on both ends of the floor.” Defensively, SU forced the Ducks into committing a campaign-worst 19 turnovers. Offensively, it shot at an impressive 56.6% clip.

Star guards Judah Mintz and J.J. Starling combined for 32 points while Quadir Copeland notched 15 along with a game-high nine rebounds and five assists. His stellar play highlighted 44 bench points from SU, which included season-highs of eight apiece for Benny Williams and Kyle Cuffe Jr.

Now, three days removed from their third straight victory, the Orange host Niagara Thursday. The Purple Eagles have already totaled seven losses through 10 games and sit at penultimate place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Here’s what our beat writers predict will happen when SU (8-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) takes on Niagara (3-7, 0-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in its final nonconference battle of the season:

Cole Bambini (10-1)
Four in a row
Syracuse 87, Niagara 65

A road win at Georgetown and a convincing 20-point win over Oregon has the Orange on a roll. They’re winners of three-straight, entering their final nonconference, regular season game versus Niagara. I expect Syracuse to easily prevail over the Purple Eagles, who have just three wins on the season through 10 games.

Syracuse’s bench shined against the Ducks Sunday. Adrian Autry should go deep into the bench against Niagara, a team the Orange have won 10 straight against.

Defensively, the Purple Eagles struggle and have an adjusted defensive efficiency of 113.8, which ranks 342nd nationally, per KenPom. Opponents shoot 37.3% from deep and 54.5% from inside the arc against Niagara, who give up 75.6 points per game. I find this will be a simple win for Syracuse, which will use it as a tune-up entering the break before conference play.

Henry O’Brien (10-1)
Just wait for the bowl game to start
Syracuse 90, Niagara 67

Coming off its best win of the season, Syracuse receives one more automatic win before conference play ensues. There’s no way around it, SU will destroy Niagara, a team that is in the middle of the road in the MAAC.

If there’s any concern, it will come from early first half scoring from Niagara, most likely started by forward Yaw Obeng-Mensah or guard Braxton Bayless. But the Orange will not let the Purple Eagles stay in the game for long. With an allowed effective field goal percentage of 54.7%, Niagara will be bludgeoned by SU. Mintz will get to 20 points, while Copeland and Maliq Brown will finish in double figures.

Syracuse fans will probably want to turn this game off and pass the time before SU football’s bowl game kicks off.

Tyler Schiff (10-1)
Christmas came early
Syracuse 85, Niagara 60

A practically gift-wrapped victory, Syracuse welcomes an early Christmas feast with Niagara as its final nonconference opponent. The Purple Eagles are positioned second-to-last in the MAAC and are one of the worst Division I teams in the country, according to KenPom (325-out-of-360 overall).

Mintz will have his way while Starling looks to string together a third consecutive game with double-digit points. Wings Chris Bell and Justin Taylor can enjoy target practice to sharpen up on their outside shooting prior to a daunting ACC slate. Maybe Copeland, Williams and the rest of SU’s backups see a little more time in what should be a contest already decided by the break.

Published on December 20, 2023 at 8:36 pm