Syracuse Basketball: Predictions for Northeastern showdown

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 19: Northeastern Huskies fans look on during their loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Consol Energy Center on March 19, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 19: Northeastern Huskies fans look on during their loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Consol Energy Center on March 19, 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
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Adam Patrick (4-3)

Prediction: Syracuse wins 74-66

Orange head coach Jim Boeheim was not very happy with his team’s performance against the Cornell Big Red on Saturday. Syracuse actually won the contest, but they needed a late-game surge to pull away and avoid the upset.

On Tuesday, the Orange will be taking on a 4-4 Northeastern Huskies team that currently ranks 20th in three-point percentage this season. Northeastern is capable of putting together a good performance as they showed during a win over Alabama back on November 15.

Unlike their game against Cornell, Syracuse is likely going to need more than just junior guard Tyus Battle to perform well on Tuesday in order to get a win.

Orange junior forward Elijah Hughes had a season-low four points against the Big Red after five straight games with at least 10 points. The Orange are going to need Hughes to get back to his early-season form if they want to avoid getting upset by the Huskies on Tuesday.