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Following Wednesday’s loss to Pittsburgh, Syracuse will return to action Saturday when it hosts Georgetown at 8 p.m. The matchup with the Hoyas is the final of seven nonconference games for SU in the 2020-21 season before the Orange shift to conference-only action.

Georgetown has lost four straight games entering the contest, while the Orange will look to avoid a second consecutive bad loss on their résumé.

Here’s what The Daily Orange’s beat writers think will happen when Syracuse renews its rivalry with Georgetown:

Andrew Crane (7-1)
Bouncing back
Syracuse 78, Georgetown 71

Even though SU blew that double-digit lead against Pittsburgh, I’m not too concerned about the loss impacting the Orange in the long run. Quincy Guerrier was on the bench with foul trouble, playing just 17 minutes, and Bourama Sidibe missed his seventh game because of injury. I think Syracuse wins the game if Guerrier plays normal minutes. He also didn’t get into foul trouble much last year, so he should be able to consistently play 30-plus minutes going forward.

But if these poor offensive showings from Syracuse keep occurring, it won’t be long until “not concerning” becomes “extremely concerning.” I don’t think Saturday will be that point, but I don’t expect the Orange to cruise past a 3-7 Georgetown, either. These rivalry games always end up being high-scoring and close, and the 96th meeting between these two programs will reflect just that. At one point, Syracuse’s shots should theoretically start to fall, and look for that to happen on Saturday.

Anthony Dabbundo (7-1)
Requiem for the Big East
Syracuse 74, Georgetown 65

Georgetown blitzed Syracuse’s porous defense in Washington, D.C., last year when these two teams battled in January. The Orange were unable to get stops as Georgetown scored 89 points. But all four of the Hoyas’ leading scorers from then are no longer with the team, either through graduation or transfer.

They are in a rebuilding year and have some young talent, including center Qudus Wahab, who Syracuse recruited. But just because they’re in a rebuilding year and outside the top 100 in KenPom efficiency doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous. Georgetown led by double digits against No. 3 Villanova at half in conference play before faltering down the stretch. They were tied with No. 14 West Virginia with 10 minutes to play.

Syracuse cannot overlook the Hoyas, and I don’t think they will, especially after the terrible collapse by the Orange at the end of Wednesday’s loss to Pittsburgh. Syracuse comes out with energy and grabs another early lead, but this time survives the late Georgetown run and wins by a somewhat comfortable margin. But the Orange’s shooting woes continue and become a major talking point entering the bulk of conference play.

Danny Emerman (5-3)
Eight to 10 pounds of air
Syracuse 76, Georgetown 74

The late, great John Thompson coached 47 games against Syracuse. Saturday will be the first in the Orange-Hoya rivalry without him since John F. Kennedy was president.

The most famous quote from Thompson, who coached and mentored Georgetown student-athletes for nearly three decades: “Don’t let the sum total of your existence be eight to 10 pounds of air.”

The ball that tips off on Saturday in the Carrier Dome will be between eight to 10 pounds, just like it always will be. And Thompson’s legacy reverberates through every program that preaches more than just athletic excellence, even as the sport has rightly gravitated toward a more stepping-stone-to-the-NBA fixture.

Syracuse is the better team this year, but this rivalry will never be the same without the presence of such a college basketball legend.

Published on January 8, 2021 at 11:51 pm