Which color prevails?
The Syracuse Orange (9-11, 3-6) make their first ACC trip to California to face the Stanford Cardinal (14-6, 6-3). Tip-off is late for us East Coast folks with an 11:00 pm start on ESPNU and here’s what we’re predicting:
Kevin: Stanford 78, Syracuse 71
There’s been some better offense from the Orange, but I don’t see how they contain Maxime Reynaud tonight. Reynaud is going to pull Eddie Lampkin away from the rim and if Syracuse tries to go smaller, he’ll likely go into the post on Davis and Majstorovic. To have a chance at this road win, Syracuse will need to limit turnovers and continue to hit shots from beyond the arc.
Dom: Stanford 85, Syracuse 75
A recent skid gives me pause Syracuse can come out with a win, and then there’s the fact Stanford enters this game on a three-game win streak with an 11-1 record at home on the year. The adjustment to head out to the West Coast is already tough enough, but equally as tough is trying to get enough stops against a Stanford offense that scores at a top-half mark in the ACC who also doesn’t turn the ball over. A scoring drought coming out of halftime sees the Orange fall behind and fail to recover.
Max: Stanford 82, Syracuse 68
Staying up late for this one will likely be a mistake. As Dom pointed out, the Cardinal have been nearly automatic at home and perfect in ACC play, beating their conference opponents by an average of 19.5 points over those four games. If this were in the Dome, it might be a different story, but the turnover bug will hit the Orange hard again in a double-digit road loss.
Sam: Stanford 75, Syracuse 67
I think both teams start sluggish in this one, but eventually, Raynaud takes over and Stanford pulls out the win.
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Now it’s your turn