No. 8 seed Syracuse (12-4, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) faces top-seeded Maryland (15-2, 5-0 Big Ten) at noon on Saturday in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals at Brown Stadium in Providence, Rhode Island.

Here’s how our beat writers predict the matchup will unfold.

Connor Grossman
Syracuse 13, Maryland 7
Upset alert

Syracuse is primed to keep its roll going, and it’ll do so on Saturday with another elite performance by Ben Williams at the faceoff X. Top-seeded Maryland has rotated between freshman Austin Henningsen and Will Bonaparte taking faceoffs, but neither will be able to counter a rested Williams, who will give SU’s deep offense ample opportunities to score. The Orange will avenge its NCAA tournament quarterfinal loss to Johns Hopkins last year and pack its bags for Philadelphia and another Final Four berth.

Jon Mettus
Syracuse 11, Maryland 9
Shell-shocked
The Orange sheds all sense of doubt brought on by its first half against Albany and outgains the Terrapins in possession and on the draw. Faceoff specialist Ben Williams, driven by his winless opening quarter a week earlier, helps Syracuse beat Maryland the way the Terps have toppled the Orange in the last two meetings. The Terrapins defense keeps it in the game, but SU’s spread out attack finally becomes too much.

Paul Schwedelson
Maryland 11, Syracuse 10
Slow and steady

The Terrapins are the No. 1 seed for a reason and their 14-game win streak won’t come to an end on Saturday. Maryland has balance throughout its entire team and the sixth-best defense in the nation won’t be over-matched by SU’s diverse offense. Henningsen has won 63.5 percent of his faceoffs this season and can be Ben Williams’ kryptonite in Providence. The Terps have reached the Final Four in four of the last five years and that dominant stretch continues with a fifth trip since 2011.