Notre Dame vs Syracuse: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
With conference play well underway, Notre Dame hosts Syracuse in a matchup of two teams who need every win possible in order to keep tournament hopes alive.
TV Schedule: Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN 2
Location: Joyce Center in Notre Dame, IN
Wednesday evening sees both the Orange and Fighting Irish meet for the second time in just two and a half weeks. Their last matchup saw the beginning of a packed conference schedule commence for each team. That day it was Notre Dame who came out victorious as they edged out Syracuse in an 88-87 game on the back of a double-double from leading scorer John Mooney.
With the Fighting Irish dropping a few conference games, now sitting at 11-6 and the Orange picking up a few great results to make them 11-7, both teams are in tough spots as far as tournament aspirations go. With plenty of games left on their fixtures list, however, there remains time to turn wrongs into rights by picking up the pace and giving themselves the best chances that they can. Wednesday’s game could be huge come the end of the regular season for both squads.
Jim Boeheim‘s Syracuse side will land in Indiana in excellent spirits after winning their last three games – all tough matchups, which included an impressive road win against the Virginia Cavaliers. With the confidence that the Orange are picking up, they’ll be looking at their schedule thinking they’ve got a legitimate chance of gaining pace to put a huge run together. Albeit, they can’t jump the gun and must continue to take it one game at a time.
Visiting another conference foe in Notre Dame, a team that they desperately will want to beat after taking a loss just weeks ago will serve as their next assignment at the top of a long list if they are to make themselves into a bubble team. Jim’s son Buddy Boeheim has been the headline maker for the Orange over the last couple of games. He scored nine overtime points in the Orange’s big win over Virginia, then 22-points in their victory over Boston College, before dropping 26 on the road against a tricky Virginia Tech outfit. Expect Buddy to throw up a couple more big-time shots on Wednesday.
Notre Dame’s main concerns will be Syracuse’s perimeter threats in Boeheim and Elijah Hughes – the latter ranks second overall in ACC scoring with 19.3 PPG. The deep threat from the Orange will certainly prove a deciding factor in this game. If it’s as efficient as it has been in recent games the Orange could easily pick up another big win here. If it isn’t though, the Irish will have their fair share of opportunities on the offensive end. Notre Dame isn’t awful on either end – they’ve shown they can be effective on both and on their night they can prove to be a problem for anyone.
What Syracuse will need to watch out for is the Irish’s ball movement. their offence is far from stagnant and they look to push the ball into the paint as well as taking their chances from beyond the arc. They currently rank 10th in the nation in assists with a staggering 17.6 per game. With Mooney their presence in the paint is strong and the likes of Dane Goodwin, TJ Gibbs and Prentiss Hubb are all very good three-point shooters, giving the Orange plenty to worry about.
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It’ll be another tough task for an Orange side which has shown a notable decline, defensively, since last season. But in recent games, they have proven that it can be a non-issue and they can persevere when it matters. It’s just a matter of consistency and making the most of the talent that you do have this year. Both teams will be raring to go in this one, and I think it has a good chance of coming down to the wire like last time they both met. It’ll be a huge morale booster for whatever side gets the win and will be a stepping stone to greater things down the line.