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Syracuse upset No. 6 seed San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a confident 16-point win. Now, the 11th-seeded Orange remain in Indianapolis to face No. 3 seed West Virginia on Sunday evening in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. 

Here’s what The Daily Orange’s beat writers predict will happen when Syracuse faces the Mountaineers for a spot in the Sweet 16: 

Andrew Crane (17-9)
Country roads, take WVU home
Syracuse 70, West Virginia 65

I’m going to steal the last line from my San Diego State prediction, because I think it’s still applicable here: “The 2-3 zone has carried the Orange before in March, and it’ll do just that again on (Sunday).” The Mountaineers have done a poor job of navigating the zone this season, and that’ll allow Syracuse’s offense to stall at times — as it did in the first few minutes against SDSU — and still leave with a victory. But who will score for the Orange behind Buddy Boeheim? Alan Griffin and Quincy Guerrier have been nonexistent. Joe Girard III’s 10-point first half was promising, but that was followed up by a two-point second half.

At some point, Buddy is going to cool down. He has to, doesn’t he? Whenever that happens, SU will be eliminated. I just don’t think that’ll come on Sunday, mostly because of the 2-3 zone containing WVU’s top players — like Derek Culver.

Anthony Dabbundo (19-7)
Why Syracuse? Why not Syracuse?
Syracuse 79, West Virginia 74

I wrote before the tournament began that I saw Syracuse either losing in round one to a tough San Diego State team or making the Sweet 16. Now that SU got past the Aztecs, I think the Orange will make the second weekend. The advanced numbers are not fond of the Mountaineers. Their defense has fallen off a cliff this season, and only three teams – Oakland, Mississippi Valley State and South Carolina State – allow a higher percentage of open jump shots than WVU. Syracuse’s 2-3 zone has improved of late, and West Virginia is one of the five worst offenses in the country in terms of points per possession when matched up against zones this season.

The Mountaineers could get hot from 3 and win this, or they could dominate the glass with Culver. But Buddy is red-hot from 3, Jim Boeheim has found his best defensive lineup, and the Orange are headed to a Sweet 16 date with Houston on Friday night. As Dino Babers once said, “Why not Syracuse?”

Danny Emerman (16-10)
This is happening
Syracuse 79, West Virginia 72

You know when Syracuse barely makes it into the tournament, then makes a run to the Sweet 16 as a double-digit seed? Yeah, that’s happening again. 

Why would any team, let alone a “Huggy Bear” team, want to face the Orange right now? They’re playing the best defense they have all year and are riding arguably the hottest shooter in the country. WVU struggles against zones, as Anthony noted, and the SU defense that’s haunted so many teams in the past will return on Sunday. Syracuse rolls.

Published on March 20, 2021 at 8:36 pm