Neil Adler, contributor (14-6)
Syracuse basketball leaves Central New York for an Atlantic Coast Conference clash on Tuesday night at Clemson. The Orange (13-7, 6-3) is one of the hottest groups in the league, having claimed five-consecutive victories, three of which have come away from the Hill.
Over the weekend, the ‘Cuse raced out to a commanding 20-point lead versus Pittsburgh at home and then held on for an eight-point success. The Tigers (10-9, 4-5), meanwhile, fell by 18 points at top-10 crew Louisville on January 25 in Clemson’s most recent outing.
The middle of the ACC is a jumbled mess, making this encounter a pivotal one. Following this past weekend’s slate of meetings, Syracuse is alone in fourth place in the conference standings, while the Tigers are presently tied for eighth with Boston College and Pittsburgh. Of course, that could all certainly fluctuate in the week ahead.
This duel between the Orange and Clemson is scheduled for tip-off at 7:00 p.m. inside Littlejohn Coliseum, with the ACC Network Extra providing live-online streaming coverage. So far in the 2019-20 campaign, the ‘Cuse is a stellar 4-0 on the road in league competition, and the Tigers are 8-4 on their own turf when suiting up versus ACC foes.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Clemson possesses a 55.8 percent chance to prevail. The Tigers are not extremely proficient on offense, but they do have a strong defense. I foresee a closely fought battle here, and I’m wavering back and forth about which unit that I think will win.
On the one hand, Syracuse is performing admirably of late, and its balanced scoring attack is an encouraging sign. Conversely, I fear that the Orange may get caught looking ahead to its bout with highly rated Duke at the Dome on Feb. 1, so I’m picking Clemson to squeak by the ‘Cuse, 68-66.