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.

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.

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.

PREDICTION

Syracuse Orange

Maryland Terrapins

Syracuse Orange vs. Maryland Terrapins Recap DEC 21TH 2024

Selton Miguel drilled a career-high six 3-pointers, fellow transfer Ja'Kobi Gillespie logged his first-career double-double and Maryland steamrolled Syracuse 87-60 on Saturday at the Gotham Classic in New York City.

Miguel, a South Florida transfer, shot 8 of 11 from the field and finished with 24 points, one shy of matching his career best. Gillespie paired 17 points with 11 assists in his 12th game with the Terrapins after spending the prior two seasons at Belmont.

Julian Reese joined Gillespie in the double-double category with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Derik Queen bundled 11 points with eight boards.

Maryland (10-2) never trailed, led by 26 at halftime and pushed the advantage to as many as 38 en route to its second straight win.

The Orange (5-6) got 16 points off the bench from Elijah Moore in their fourth loss in five games. Donnie Freeman added 15 points and seven rebounds, Kyle Cuffe Jr. chipped in 10 points and Eddie Lampkin Jr. supplied nine points and 10 boards.

The game was never close, with the Terrapins seizing control after a sloppy first few minutes from both sides.

Maryland started 4 of 17 from the field before making six of its next seven shots, including two 3-pointers by Miguel to take a 26-11 lead with 6:25 left in the first half. Miguel added a triple before halftime to lead all scorers with 16 points.

Syracuse pulled within 26-15 before the Terrapins completely took over with a 17-2 run to close the opening period.

The Orange looked lifeless on offense throughout the first 20 minutes, hitting just 8 of 29 field goals (27.6 percent) while committing 12 turnovers.

Syracuse's final giveaway of the half led to Jordan Geronimo's two-handed fastbreak jam that capped a 10-0 run and left Maryland ahead 43-17 at the break.

The Terrapins continued the rout by canning their first four shot attempts after halftime. Reese finished twice in the paint to push the lead to 30 before Miguel tacked on two more triples for a 53-19 advantage.

A flurry from Cuffe got the Orange within 24, but Maryland rattled off the next 14 points to take its largest lead of the day at 75-37 with 7:30 left.