Syracuse (15-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) squares off against Georgia Tech (10-11, 3-5) on Wednesday night at Atlanta’s McCamish Pavilion. The Orange enters the game riding a three-game winning streak including its most recent win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night. It was SU’s first win on the road in ACC play.

Here are our beat writers predictions for the game.

Matthew Gutierrez (18-3)

Bee sting
Georgia Tech 67, Syracuse 61

It’s admirable what Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner has done in Atlanta. He inherited a team a season ago that was returning not a single player who averaged more than 5.0 points per game. All he did was take GT, picked to finish 14th out of 15 ACC teams, to the NIT finals. On Sunday night, his unit nearly beat No. 20 Clemson. Georgia Tech has beaten Miami and Notre Dame this season, too, so GT should have its way at home against the Orange this week. Syracuse gave little reason to believe against Pittsburgh that it can pick up a second road win in conference play, at least for now.

Sam Fortier (17-4)
Welcome to Atlanta
Syracuse 58, Georgia Tech 55

These are two of the ACC’s worst offensive teams — each rank in the bottom quartile for effective field goal percentage — so expect a defensive battle on Wednesday night. That would favor the Orange, which has one of the nation’s best defenses that can block shots and nab steals with the best of ’em. As tough it is to win on the road in the ACC, the Orange should grind it out with the Yellow Jackets and rely on Tyus Battle and Frank Howard to “fill it up,” as GT head coach Josh Pastner said on Wednesday. Plus, Syracuse needs this one bad to avoid putting itself in a deep hole for its postseason chances.

Tomer Langer (16-5)
The big one
Syracuse 64, Georgia Tech 59

This is arguably Syracuse’s most important game left on the schedule in the sense that its the most winnable road game remaining. Georgia Tech has a stifling defense but really struggles to score. Syracuse is similar, but there are two key distinctions. The Orange’s defense is stronger, and it’ll have the best player on the floor in Tyus Battle. Syracuse picks up a big road win and improves its winning streak to four.

Published on January 30, 2018 at 8:16 pm