After falling to No. 8 Florida State, 80-77, last Saturday, Syracuse (14-11, 7-7 Atlantic Coast) plays its second-straight top-20 opponent when it travels to No. 11 Louisville (21-5, 12-3). The Cardinals have lost two-consecutive games — to Georgia Tech and Clemson — but still sit second in the ACC standings heading into the final weeks of the season. Jordan Nwora’s 18.2 points per game leads Louisville, who at one point this season won 10-straight games.

Here’s what our beat writers think will happen during Wednesday’s game.

Nick Alvarez (17-8)
Fold ‘em
Louisville 85, Syracuse 74 

I nearly picked Syracuse. I see all the requisite signs for an upset. SU hasn’t been obliterated on the road this season. Jordan Nwora has scored just seven points in his last two games and has struggled from 3. And while the Cardinals don’t force turnovers, SU’s offense has been effective. But Louisville needs a win right now, and I doubt the Cardinals lose a third-straight on their home court. The combo of Nwora and 6-foot-10 center Steven Enoch should cause fits defensively, too. Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament hopes likely end Wednesday night and we can all start scouring Twitter for NIT bracketologists. 

Michael McCleary (16-9)
Poorly seasoned
Louisville 80, Syracuse 71

The Orange made it close against Florida State. Though the Seminoles were missing their best player, it’s unfortunate that SU won’t be able to utilize that bounce-back to formulate some sort of momentum in this game. That might be the difference, as always, when the Orange encounter a Louisville team that is clearly better.

Josh Schafer (17-8)
Kentucky fried season
Louisville 83 Syracuse 79 

Last Saturday proved to us once again that Syracuse can compete with the best in the ACC. Even in a down year, Syracuse hasn’t been far off from the conference’s top teams. But Saturday also showed us that Syracuse is still just close. The Orange aren’t consistent in many facets of the game to complete an upset. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said on Saturday that the Orange didn’t rebound well enough down the stretch. SU couldn’t get the stop it needed. No matter how close this game may be down the line, it’s hard to imagine a team that hasn’t had a signature win yet this year righting that wrong in the KFC Yum! Center. Louisville has a top-ranked offense and shoots the 3-ball as well as anyone in the country. Syracuse likely won’t stop the Cardinals. If the offense can hang with UofL, then perhaps the Orange can too.

Published on February 19, 2020 at 12:44 am