Syracuse basketball has to pound the glass to upset Notre Dame on road

Syracuse basketball took care of business in recent Atlantic Coast Conference contests on the Hill against Boston College and Georgia Tech.

The Orange (15-12, 9-7) really needed to come away with triumphs in those two encounters if the ‘Cuse hopes to have any chance, albeit a tiny one, of reaching the 2022 Big Dance.

The 2021-22 regular season is winding down, and Syracuse basketball has four ACC clashes left on the docket. The ‘Cuse suits up at Notre Dame this Wednesday evening, followed by meetings with Duke, North Carolina and Miami.

As we’ve noted in other recent columns, that quartet represents the top-four squads for the time being in the ACC standings. So Syracuse basketball will possess several opportunities in the near future to pick up marquee successes, and that commences on Wednesday night versus the Fighting Irish (19-8, 12-4) from Purcell Pavilion.

Let’s take a deeper dive on the next Syracuse basketball foe.

Notre Dame has proven a pleasant surprise within the ACC at this juncture in 2021-22. In the non-conference slate, the Fighting Irish upset a top-10 Kentucky group.

Other notable victories for Notre Dame include over Miami, North Carolina and Virginia. The Fighting Irish’s resume is pretty solid and doesn’t contain many bad setbacks.

In its most recent outing, Notre Dame did fall by five points, 79-74, at Wake Forest this past Saturday. That result snapped a five-game winning streak for the Fighting Irish, although it remains near the top of the ACC standings.

Notre Dame’s offense, at 71.2 points per contest, will thoroughly challenge the Orange zone defense. The Fighting Irish shoots quite well, connecting on 45.7 percent from the field, 37.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.1 percent from the charity stripe.

Fighting Irish players also take care of the ball effectively, only committing 10.4 turnovers a game. Notre Dame also has a credible defense that gives up just 66.6 points per affair.

When I penned this piece, the Fighting Irish was within the ACC’s top five in scoring defense as well as 3-point field-goal percentage defense.

Earlier this week, Syracuse basketball squeaked out a 74-73 overtime win against Georgia Tech, and the Orange didn’t shoot well from the field.

The ‘Cuse will have to fare much better in this arena if it wants to upset Notre Dame on the road. Speaking of that, the Fighting Irish is stellar at home in 2021-22, succumbing to only one defeat, at the hands of top-10 Duke.

Where I think that Syracuse basketball has to prevail is on the boards. Even without junior center Jesse Edwards available due to an injury, the Orange big men have to pound the glass.

Notre Dame collects just 33.6 rebounds a game, which is toward the bottom of the ACC. Syracuse basketball will likely have to notch some easy buckets via the offensive glass to keep pace with the Fighting Irish away from the Carrier Dome.

At the time of this writing, Notre Dame was No. 57 in the NET rankings and No. 58 overall according to KenPom. The Orange holds an all-time series advantage of 31-22 versus the Fighting Irish, and picking up another win in this rivalry is going to require a monster effort by the ‘Cuse on Wednesday.