Syracuse Orange vs. Maryland Terrapins Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 21st 2024
Preview and Prediction
In its second season under Adrian Autry, Syracuse has experienced a monotonous pattern of five losses to power conference teams and five wins over mid-majors.
The Orange (5-5) will try to break this trend when they take on Maryland (9-2) in the Gotham Classic in New York City on Saturday afternoon.
What has been most frustrating for Syracuse is that they could have easily turned most of their losses into wins. Four out of their five defeats have been by a margin of five or fewer points, and in each of those games, they held a lead at some point in the second half.
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In their most recent loss, a 75-71 defeat at home against Georgetown on December 14, the Orange were up 64-58 with seven minutes remaining. However, a 3-pointer by Jaquan Carlos with 4:12 left was the final field goal for Syracuse as the Hoyas went on a late 7-0 run to secure the win.
"In every game we've lost, we had the opportunity to win," said forward Jyare Davis. "We just need to learn how to close out games."
Closing out games has been a challenge for the Orange, especially without their leading scorer, JJ Starling (19.8 points per game), who suffered a broken left (non-shooting) hand in practice earlier this month.
Autry stated that there is still no timeline for Starling's return.
In the meantime, Syracuse will have to rely on their frontcourt players, including Donnie Freeman (13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game), Chris Bell (11.8 ppg), and Davis (11.1 ppg).
On the other hand, Maryland is off to their best start since the 2019-20 season, with their only two losses coming against ranked teams, Marquette and Purdue, by a combined margin of nine points.
The Terrapins currently lead the nation in scoring margin (27.1 points per game) and have become known for their scoring runs. They have already made 18 double-digit runs this season, which is two more than they had in the entire previous season.
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In their most recent game, a 111-57 blowout over Saint Francis (Pa.), Maryland had three separate scoring runs.
"Last year, we couldn't have those runs because we couldn't score," said Maryland coach Kevin Willard. "When you can't score, you can't press."
All five of Maryland's starters are averaging double-digit points, with Derik Queen (17.3), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (13.8), and Rodney Rice (12.6) leading the way. Julian Reese (12.1) is also a key contributor, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game.