Syracuse Basketball: Predictions for Ohio State showdown

Adam Patrick (3-2)

Prediction: Ohio State wins 70-64

Syracuse has their work cut out for themselves on Wednesday night when they take on an unbeaten Ohio State Buckeyes team on their home court.

If the Orange perform similar to how they did during the second half of last week’s win over Colgate, then an upset could be in the making. However, Ohio State’s defense has already been among the best in the nation this season, so making shots is likely going to be pretty difficult for Syracuse this week.

In their six games this season, the Buckeyes’ opponents are only shooting 35.5 percent from the floor. Only seven teams in the country have held their opponents to a lower shooting percentage than Ohio State in 2018-19.

So for a team like the Orange who are coming into Wednesday only making 39.7 of their shots this season, easy baskets are going to be very necessary in order to get a win over the Buckeyes.

With both schools featuring teams that have excellent defenses, expect this week’s matchup to be pretty low scoring. Turnovers and second-chance points will likely be the top two factors in determining who comes out with a win on Wednesday.