Syracuse (16-13, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) lost big in its last home game of the season to one of the worst teams in the ACC and looks to bounce back against another bottom-tier conference team in Boston College (13-16, 7-11).

Here’s a briefing on the Eagles before Tuesday’s 7 p.m. tipoff. 

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 50-26

Last time they played: Syracuse met with Boston College earlier in the season, and SU came away with a 76-50 win in the Carrier Dome. Buddy Boeheim led Syracuse with 22 points.

The Eagles report: Boston College is just three losses apart from Syracuse, but the Eagles’ game-to-game results have been far more negative. BC has lost 11 of its 16 defeats by 15-plus points. Syracuse, comparatively, has only been on the losing end of a 15-point game twice. 

The Eagles are one of the worst shooting teams in the ACC, posting percentages of 40.6% overall and 30.1% from 3-point range. Both of those marks rank in the bottom-three of the conference. Its defense isn’t much better as it sacrifices nearly 70 points per game.

How Syracuse beats Boston College: A lot of ways, actually. Mainly, the Orange need to keep from happening what cost them the game against North Carolina: Allowing a poor offensive team to get off to a hot start. The Orange need to make adjustments to their zone and don’t need to try anything fancy. Simply sitting back on defense and rotating aggressively will force one of the conference’s worst shooting teams to take low percentage shots that it likely won’t make a lot of.

Stat to know: -4.8 — Boston College’s point differential, which is the worst in the ACC.

KenPom odds: Syracuse has a 66% chance to win the game, with a projected final score of 74-70. 

Player to watch: Jay Heath, No. 5, Guard

On a team lacking shooting from top-to-bottom, Heath is the most respectable threat from long range. He’s hit 37% of his 3-pointers on 147 attempts. His near 13-point average is the best mark on the Eagles and will be the No. 1 option Syracuse needs to stop Tuesday.

Published on March 2, 2020 at 8:37 pm

Contact Michael: mmcclear@syr.edu | @MikeJMcCleary