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Syracuse closed out its nonconference schedule with a 12-point win over Bucknell following an embarrassing blowout loss to Maryland. SU never found consistency during nonconference play and went 0-5 against Power Four programs. Now, it gets into its full Atlantic Coast Conference slate. The game Tuesday is the first of 19 straight ACC games for the Orange to close out the year.

The last time Syracuse faced Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons defeated Syracuse 99-70 in Winston-Salem, where WF shot 66% from the field. Despite that result, Syracuse has never lost to Wake Forest at home, winning all four matchups at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Here’s how our beat writers think Syracuse (6-6, 0-1 ACC) will fare against Wake Forest (9-4, 1-1 ACC):

Zak Wolf (11-1)
Down with the Deacons
Syracuse 70, Wake Forest 66

The only blemish on my record came from the Georgetown game, where I jumped back and forth about who to pick. I chose Syracuse and was wrong. I’m trusting the Orange once again in this one. Similar to Syracuse, Wake Forest doesn’t have much firepower. The Demon Deacons are uber reliant on leading scorer Hunter Sallis, and outside of him, there aren’t many players who should strike fear into the Orange.

Sallis averages 17.8 points per game but is one of two players who average double figures for Wake Forest, alongside Cameron Hildreth at 12.6. Sallis is going to get his points, but I think Syracuse can keep the rest quiet. WF doesn’t shoot the ball well, hitting just 26.5% of its 3s this season, and shouldn’t provide the Orange with much of a threat from the outside.

I expect SU to pack the paint and grind this one out. I doubt this is going to be a pretty game for either team. Both these teams are in the bottom half of the ACC in scoring and are the two worst 3-point shooting teams in the conference. With how bad both teams are on the perimeter, I trust Syracuse’s frontcourt more to get this one done.

Aiden Stepansky (12-0)
Happy New Year
Syracuse 68, Wake Forest 72

By way of Kyle Cuffe Jr.’s idea, Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry separated the basketball season into three sections during his Bucknell postgame press conference: nonconference, conference and postseason. SU’s victory over the Bison closed a poor first chapter. While the Orange have already begun conference play, the real start of the second chapter begins against the Demon Deacons.

SU will capture conference wins at some point as J.J. Starling’s return approaches. However, I see Syracuse starting ACC play 0-2. Wake Forest has similar struggles to SU, ranking as the only team in the ACC with a worse 3-point percentage. The Orange have compounded these shooting woes with poor defense. Wake Forest, on the other hand, has used defense to overcome them.

Like Zak, I see SU packing the paint defensively. But this doesn’t solve Syracuse’s problem of scoring themselves. The Demon Deacons are holding teams to just 44.4% from 2-point range, the 28th-best metric in the country. This will force Syracuse to create on the perimeter, which I still don’t trust to happen consistently enough so long as Starling sits on the bench with a wrap on his hand.

It will be close and come down to the wire, but the Orange will come up just short to ring in the new year.

Justin Girshon (11-1)
No apologies
Syracuse 71, Wake Forest 69

The last time Syracuse played Wake Forest, Autry apologized to the fans and the university postgame. The Orange were absolutely embarrassed in Winston-Salem, suffering a 29-point defeat while letting WF shoot 66% from the field.

It was the lowest point of Autry’s first season at the helm, but SU bounced back to finish the season with 20 wins. Thus far in 2024, however, Syracuse hasn’t built off its late-season surge from last year. Nonconference play was a struggle for the Orange, and they reached a lower point than the loss to the Demon Deacons after getting demolished by Maryland.

With ACC play kicking into full swing, there aren’t many optimistic signs for the program. The good news, at least in the interim, is that Wake Forest isn’t very good, either. As my fellow beat writers have alluded to, the Demon Deacons somehow have a worse 3-point percentage than SU.

Additionally, with only Sallis and Hildreth averaging double-figure points, I see Wake Forest struggling to score down the stretch in a tight contest. It won’t be a pretty game, but I see the Orange barely defending their home court to close the year on a positive.

Published on December 30, 2024 at 5:00 pm