Syracuse (16-8, 5-6 Atlantic Coast) welcomes Wake Forest (9-15, 2-10) to the Carrier Dome on Sunday. Syracuse is coming off its biggest win of the season, a 78-73 road triumph against Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday night. The Demon Deacons most recently lost on the road at Miami, 87-81.

 See how our beat writers think the matchup will play out.

Matthew Gutierrez (20-4)

In the Wake of

Syracuse 63, Wake Forest 62

In the wake of an out-of-nowhere display at Louisville, I suspect Syracuse will win this game at home. Who knows, though. SU did prove against Boston College last month that, given rest, this team comes out refreshed. With five days off between the UofL and WFU games, Syracuse’s starters rest up and play well Sunday afternoon for a close win against one of the conference’s lower-tier teams. A loss? Well, Syracuse can’t afford too many more of those. Here’s to a close, entertaining game.

Sam Fortier (18-6)

Wake and bake

Syracuse 69, Wake Forest 61

An early Sunday game at home against the weakest opponent remaining on its schedule should be a win. It’s a momentary respite for the Orange before a brutal five-game, season-ending stretch and SU should snag this one because of its superior guard play and suffocating defense. For all the mistakes down the stretch the last time these teams played — like three-consecutive corner 3s — the Orange has matured and won’t repeat them.

Tomer Langer (17-7)

Wake me up

Syracuse 64, Wake Forest 59

The Orange has followed up its most impressive ACC win with nearly a full week off to rest. Now it gets back to its home court against a much weaker opponent. The rest should, hopefully, be enough time for Bourama Sidibe to come back healthy. Those factors should be enough to push SU over the top.

Published on February 7, 2018 at 10:24 pm