Men's Basketball

Beat writers predict No. 7 Villanova to handily defeat Syracuse

Larry E. Reid Jr. | Staff Photographer

Kaleb Joseph and Syracuse will face its toughest test yet when they visit No. 7 Villanova at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Phil D’Abbraccio (7-2): Villanova 79, Syracuse 58
Zone vs. Wild
Syracuse’s recent defensive struggles don’t bode well for this one. Opponents have combined for 25 3s in SU’s last three games and Louisiana Tech quieted the Carrier Dome on Sunday with a flurry of alley-oops. Villanova’s versatile offense threatens to attack in even more ways than those, and on the other end the Syracuse offense takes a step back against the Wildcats’ aggressive Top-25 defense. The Orange erased a 20-5 first-half deficit last year to beat then-No. 8 Villanova, but this time around there won’t be many shades of that old Big East competitiveness.

Jesse Dougherty (7-2): Villanova 74, Syracuse 55
Super Nova
It’s a game that Syracuse can’t win. Old rivalry aside, the Wildcats are deeper, faster and more talented than the struggling Orange, which most recently beat Louisiana Tech, yes Louisiana Tech, on a near buzzer-beater. It won’t come to that at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, as Villanova’s healthy diet of guard scoring and operation out of the paint is force fed by its unrelenting, in-your-face defense. SU’s nonconference schedule gets much harder before it gets much easier, and its fourth loss of the season comes before heading home for a three-game stretch at the Carrier Dome.

Jacob Klinger (7-2): Villanova 75, Syracuse 55
Villa-no-fun
Even in most down years with inexperience starting and subbing in, you’d give Syracuse a fighting chance in this rivalry rematch. But SU is so broken down even in the most basic facets of the game that it’s hard to see the Orange giving a Top-10 team much to think about. This Top-10 team happens to be a nightmarish matchup for the defense Syracuse can usually count on. Fans should instead count on a long afternoon of SU guards picking Villanova 3s out of the bottom of the net.





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