Syracuse Basketball: Buddy Boeheim back for Boston College is huge

Syracuse basketball and Boston College will kick off ACC play this Saturday afternoon.

Syracuse basketball will attempt to get back to its winning ways when the Orange heads to Boston College this coming Saturday afternoon in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both squads.

The ‘Cuse (3-1) fell by 10 points on the road to No. 21 Rutgers earlier this week, and there’s no shame in that result, given the opponent as well as the fact that Syracuse basketball was missing from its line-up two starters in senior center Bourama Sidibe and junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim.

Boeheim, who has missed several games in a row due to Covid-19 protocols, is expected to return to action versus the Eagles, according to his father, Orange head coach Jim Boeheim.

Having Buddy Boeheim available is pivotal, since sophomore point guard Joe Girard III is struggling. Plus, while freshman combo guard Kadary Richmond is performing at a high level, I don’t think that Jim Boeheim necessarily wants the newbie to suit up for 35 or more minutes per encounter moving forward, at least in the short term.

Slated to finish at No. 14 in the ACC according to the conference’s pre-season media poll, the Eagles (1-4) are in the midst of a three-affair setback streak, most recently falling at Minnesota in overtime as part of the annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Although Boston College’s record to date is sub-par, the Eagles do own a conquest of Rhode Island, and BC also played highly rated Villanova tough at the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign.

Here are some pertinent statistics for Syracuse basketball at Boston College this Saturday.

These two former Big East Conference rivals and current ACC foes will do battle at 1 pm on Dec. 12 from the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass., with ESPNU providing television coverage.

Since the Eagles are not an overly dominating rebounding team, Sidibe’s continued absence, hopefully, will not cause a lot of issues for the Orange on the glass.

However, the Boston College roster does feature multiple talented guards and wings who could pose problems for the ‘Cuse 2-3 zone as it pertains to driving into the paint.

As a collective unit, the Eagles connect on 34.1 percent from beyond the arc, which isn’t stellar, but it still proves better than the 32.7 percent that Syracuse basketball is hitting on from 3-point land.

Each group coughs up about 15 turnovers a game, which is awful, so the Orange players must take extra special care of the ball in this ACC clash.

The ‘Cuse boasts an edge in the bevy of statistical categories, and ESPN’s Basketball Power Index says that the Orange has a 69.4 percent chance to prevail.

Buddy Boeheim’s return is critical, and I think that his insertion into the rotation will provide just the kind of boost needed to enable Syracuse basketball to notch an ACC road success.