Syracuse vs Indiana Preview

The Orange hosts the undefeated Hoosiers in the ACC BIG-10 Challenge.

MATCHUP HISTORY

On Tuesday November 30th at 7 PM, the 3-3 Syracuse Orange will face the 6-0 Indiana Hoosiers at the Carrier Dome. The last time these two teams faced was December 3rd, 2013. The Orange won 69-52. The leading scorer for the Orange was Trevor Cooney who scored 21 points while future lottery pick Noah Vonleh led the Hoosiers with 17 points. At the time the Orange played its first season in the ACC and was ranked fourth in the AP Top 25.

The Orange has a 5-1 all-time record against the Hoosiers. The only loss to the Hoosiers took place in their first ever meeting during the 1987 National Championship Game in which Syracuse lost 74-73 on Keith Smart’s buzzer-beating shot.

RECENT GAMES

Syracuse

In their most recent game, the Orange lost to the Auburn Tigers 89-68. Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider, and Jesse Edwards each led Syracuse in scoring with 17 points apiece while Auburn’s highly touted freshman Jabari Smith led all scorers with 22 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. The Orange were outmatched from a physical standpoint, especially on the boards, losing the rebounding battle 38-28. They also had more than double the amount of turnovers as Auburn. The Orange had 15 while the Tigers only had 7. Overall, the Tigers asserted their dominance over the Orange and they played right into their hands.

The Orange went 1-2 in the Battle 4 Atlantis and have lost 3 out of their last 4 games. Their most recent win came against the Arizona State Sun Devils in which they won 92-84 despite a few key turnovers down the stretch.

Indiana

The Syracuse Orange will have their hands full in the paint as Indiana’s star Trayce Jackson- Davis comes to town. The 6’9” forward most recently scored a career-high 43 points against the Marshall Thundering Herd. He also collected 5 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Through 6 games, Jackson-Davis currently averages 20.5 points on 66 percent from the field, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game.

The only other player to average double figures for the Hoosiers this season so far is junior guard Xavier Johnson who previously played at Pittsburgh. Johnson averages 11.8 points and 3.8 assists per game.

OVERALL

The key to the Orange winning this game will be their interior defense against Trayce-Jackson Davis. After fouling out in back to back games against Colgate and VCU, Jesse Edwards seemed to be more disciplined on defense but guarding an interior big like Jackson-Davis won’t be an easy task. Edwards will have to avoid foul trouble for the Orange to keep their head above water and not let their record sink to 3-4.