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Syracuse had a rough six minutes to begin its game on Saturday against old Big East rival Georgetown. Then the Hoyas’ shots stopped falling and SU capitalized behind double-doubles from Judah Mintz and Jesse Edwards. With a third straight win under its belt, SU welcomes Monmouth, one of the youngest teams in college basketball that sits at just 1-9.

The Hawks are recovering this season from losing their top three contributors to graduation last season and have only been within 10 points during a loss twice thus far. Record-wise, it’s the worst team the Orange have faced this season as they look to move to 7-4.

Here’s what our beat writers predict will happen when SU takes on Monmouth Monday night:

Anish Vasudevan (8-2)
Lucky number seven?
Syracuse 81, Monmouth 70

The Joe Girard III puns are over for now, but Syracuse is finally finding its stride. After a slow start against Georgetown, the Orange showed how they can force turnovers and finish in transition to take control over a game. Monmouth is one of the bottom 50 teams in the country, according to Ken Pom, so SU should keep up the success.

A win over Monmouth doesn’t just clinch Syracuse’s fourth straight win, but could give it an opportunity to put in players like Maliq Brown by experimenting with different lineups. With this matchup serving as a warm up game, the Orange can easily win every game until the start of the New Year, coasting into the beginning of conference play.

Connor Smith (8-2)
Easy
Syracuse 85, Monmouth 58

Monmouth had a string of solid seasons under Binghamton native King Rice. This won’t be one of them. The Hawks are 1-9, and projected to finish 7-24, per KenPom. Syracuse will be their fourth top-100 opponent this season — the first three ended in losses by an average of over 40 points. Plus, the Orange have been rolling. This one shouldn’t be close.

SU looked good against Oakland and Georgetown (outside of the opening six minutes), and is now on its first three-game winning streak of the season. Edwards is playing himself into All-American consideration — and drew comparisons to Patrick Ewing, from the coach himself, after Saturday’s game — and will dominate again on Monday. Girard is starting to find some much-needed consistency, and Mintz actually played like a point guard against Georgetown, totaling 10 assists. Jim Boeheim has found something good with his bench, too, getting a nice boost from John Bol Ajak and Symir Torrence recently.

Syracuse will win this game going away, with Monmouth being the worst team it’ll play all season, and the better question will be how early Boeheim lets the walk-ons get on the court.

Anthony Alandt (6-4)
Hapless Hawks
Syracuse 87, Monmouth 61

Three in a row? Now that’s what we in the business like to call a winning streak. Syracuse outperformed Notre Dame to kick off arguably the easiest part of its schedule in 2022-23. Now it’s back to 6-4 and welcomes a Monmouth team that ranks near the bottom of college basketball in nearly every measurable statistic. Head coach Rice is just trying to keep a young team without its top three starters afloat in a clear rebuilding year. That inexperience is something the Orange can capitalize on throughout, as younger players have a difficult time adjusting to the oddities of the JMA Wireless Dome.

Look for SU to once again flex its Edwards-Girard combination while also utilizing a healthy dose of Mintz (hopefully as he gets more comfortable being a facilitator). Anish is right. Chances for Boeheim to change up the lineup will be on full display tonight as well. Will Brown and, hopefully, Quadir Copeland, get more time alongside Torrence on the court? Regardless, Syracuse should easily slide past the Hawks and move to a fourth-straight dub.

Published on December 12, 2022 at 3:39 pm