Syracuse Basketball: Colgate Raiders crystal ball predictions

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 22: Jordan Burns #1 reacts with Will Rayman #10 of the Colgate Raiders during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 22: Jordan Burns #1 reacts with Will Rayman #10 of the Colgate Raiders during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

Syracuse basketball gets back on the court to play Colgate. Here are our full crystal ball predictions ahead of this matchup + top x-factors.

That was a long week without Syracuse basketball.

The Orange opened up the 2019-20 season against the defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers last Wednesday. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t pretty.

Syracuse lost 48-34 and no that isn’t a typo. The team shot 23.6 percent from the field, 17.2 percent from deep, and 42.9 percent from the charity stripe. For a team possessing extremely high aspirations offensively for the season, it’s fair to say Orange fans were disappointed with the results.

Was that a sign of things to come or Syracuse simply running into a brick wall that is Virginia?

We’ll find out Wednesday night when the Orange welcome Colgate into the dome.

The analytics favor Syracuse (80.3 winning percentage) and so does Vegas, the Orange are 10.5 point favorites vs the Raiders. This Colgate team reached the NCAA tournament last season for the first time since 1996.

So how will this game play out? Who will be the top x-factor? Which storyline should you be paying attention too? We answer all of those questions with our full crystal ball predictions!