In Syracuse’s 97-63 win against Georgia Tech last Saturday, its offense tied a season-high in points and came within three points of the century mark. The Orange (5-4, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) now travel to Washington, D.C. on Saturday to face Georgetown (6-3) in the latest chapter of a longtime rivalry. Georgetown has already lost four rotation players resulting from a scandal that surfaced within the past few weeks, but is still coming off a win against SMU on Dec. 7. 

See what our beat writers predicted for SU’s 1 p.m. game against the Hoyas.

Nick Alvarez (8-1)
Hoya what’s a?
Syracuse 76, Georgetown 58

My undefeated streak is gone, long live my undefeated streak. Now, for the first time since Bucknell, I’m predicting a Syracuse win. SU and Georgetown are two historic programs with a historic rivalry trending in different directions of late. Elijah Hughes showcased his dynamic scoring last weekend and the Hoyas don’t have a defender to stop him. Buddy Boeheim is shooting out of a slump and Patrick Ewing is dealing with a string of dismals. The Orange need some feel-good wins heading into the new year and Saturday afternoon should be a blowout. And I still don’t know what a Hoya is. 

Michael McCleary (6-3)
#NewYorkForever
Syracuse 74, Georgetown 58

There was a time when this marquee rivalry used to be held in Madison Square Garden, where Georgetown’s current coach played many games in his NBA career. History hasn’t served either very well. What’s going on at Madison Square Garden now? Not important. But this year’s Georgetown squad under third-year head coach Patrick Ewing is off to a bit of a rough start. Already a middle-of-the-pack team, the Hoyas lost four players in the aftermath of a scandal. Two of those players were some of their biggest contributors (one was their starting point guard, who reportedly left the team for an unrelated reason). Now, Georgetown-lite has to slow down a Syracuse team coming off its best offensive performance of the season — a game where Joe Girard III still struggled. To be honest, it would be disappointing if SU keeps things close. Sorry coach Ewing: Once a Knick, always a Knick. And Knicks have to get used to losing these days.

Josh Schafer (7-2)
America’s team
Syracuse 72 Georgetown 58

The last time Syracuse played, the offense finally erupted against a high-major opponent and routed Georgia Tech. SU showed the ability to score from the outside with Elijah Hughes and Buddy Boeheim as well as down low with Bourama Sidibe and Marek Dolezaj. As previously mentioned, the Hoyas are playing without several normal contributors and haven’t had many games to adjust to their new lineup. Syracuse will need to take advantage of that and exploit a bad 3-point shooting defense. If Syracuse can continue the offense it played against the Yellow Jackets a week ago, the Orange will be more than fine against Georgetown on Saturday.

Published on December 13, 2019 at 2:37 pm