Syracuse Basketball: Predictions for Ohio State showdown

Neil Adler (3-2)

Prediction: Ohio State wins 72-68

The Syracuse basketball squad returns to the court this Wednesday evening, when the Orange visits Ohio State as part of the 2018 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, an event now in its 20th year. ESPN2 will televise the game. SU (3-2) got back to its winning ways when it throttled Colgate inside the Carrier Dome right before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The nationally ranked Buckeyes (6-0), meanwhile, are off to a strong start in the 2018-19 campaign, having defeated both Cincinnati and Creighton on the road. Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, the ‘Cuse has struggled a bit in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, sporting a 2-3 mark, although the Orange did defeat Maryland a term ago.

ESPN.com’s match-up predictor is projecting that OSU has roughly a 68 percent chance of prevailing, and that seems about right, given that the Buckeyes are competing on their own turf. I’m not seeing any betting lines out in Las Vegas at this juncture, however, I would ultimately expect Ohio State to get viewed as the favorite by at least a few points.

The Buckeyes, to date, are generating more scoring on offense, and allowing fewer points on defense, than Syracuse. Needless to say, SU has to perform at an extremely high level to best OSU. In the end, unfortunately, I feel that the Buckeyes will get it done at home, but the ‘Cuse will keep it close. Ohio State emerges victorious, 72-68.