On Wednesday afternoon in the ACC basketball league, the Miami Hurricanes take on the Syracuse Orange in the ACC Tournament.
TV Schedule: Wednesday, Mar. 8, 12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Arena: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Prediction: Syracuse 78, Miami 72
ACC tournament play is finally underway, and on the second day, we already have a match-up between two teams that could make the NCAA Tournament. The league is as loaded as ever, so let’s dive into this great Wednesday afternoon match-up between the Miami Hurricanes and the Syracuse Orange.
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Syracuse heads into this game as a bubble team. They finished the season dropping four of their last six games, which certainly didn’t help their case for a tournament bid. As a result, the Orange’s postseason future is in limbo. They are on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament, and many bracket predictions have them listed as one of the last four in. However, they are far from a lock at this point. This game means a lot to Syracuse, and a win here may help put some separation between them and the rest of the bubble field.
Miami is coming into this match-up riding a two-game losing streak to close out the season. This skid came after four straight wins, which included victories over Virginia and Duke. Despite this, Miami is a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but this win could add to their resume and help them with seeding come Sunday.
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Syracuse has more to play for, plain and simple. The Orange need this win to help solidify their case to the NCAA Tournament committee. The game will be closer than Syracuse’s 70-55 win earlier this season, but the Orange are fighting for too much and this should propel them to a sweep of the Hurricanes this year.