Syracuse Basketball: Iowa Hawkeyes crystal ball predictions

Chris Queripel, contributor (6-1)

As the clock runs out on the Syracuse football season, it’s time to focus only on basketball. Fans hope they have a winning team to root for this year. However, so far, the team has lost three games and hasn’t had many silver linings.

The next opportunity for the Orange is against Iowa on Tuesday as a part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Syracuse will come back to the Dome on Tuesday and still have not played a true road game yet this season.

In their previous contest, Syracuse fell 85-64 to Penn State, but there’s a lot to learn from that matchup. One of the most significant issues for the Orange is their depth. When bench play is a question mark, then foul trouble can entirely derail a game.

Currently, Bourama Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj are the worst offenders with 25 and 23 fouls, respectively. If Syracuse continues to commit fouls at a high rate, then their success will be put on the back burner. Especially if they only rely on two players off the bench.

Quincy Guerrier is my x-factor against Iowa and for the rest of the season. He provides a scoring boost off the bench and size but needs improvement to help the ‘Cuse. Against the Nittany Lions Guerrier played a season-high 31 minutes totaling 13 points and ten rebounds. If Guerrier can build on his recent performance, then his contributions would be crucial to some big Syracuse wins in 2020.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are 5-2 heading into this game with one win against a top 25 opponent. Against Texas Tech, the Hawkeyes won 72-61 in a statement victory against the No. 12 ranked squad.

If Syracuse focuses on one player heading into this game, they must look out for Luka Garza. The center leads Iowa in points, rebounds, and blocks. Garza is averaging a double-double and poses a significant size threat against the Orange. Syracuse hasn’t shown much promise yet, and against a good Iowa team, I don’t see ‘Cuse picking up a win. Give me Iowa 76-66 over Syracuse.