On Wednesday at 8:00 PM PT on ESPNU, Stanford men’s basketball will take on the Syracuse Orange in a home contest at Maples Pavilion. Stanford comes in at 14-6 overall and 6-3 in the ACC while Syracuse comes in at 9-11 overall and 3-6 in the ACC.

Last time out: Stanford defeated Florida State on Saturday by a final score of 78-71. Stanford swingman Oziyah Sellers led the way with 27 points and two assists.

RECAP: Oziyah Sellers’ big night propels Stanford MBB past Florida State

On Syracuse: The Orange are having a rough season, narrowly beating Colgate at home 74-72 and needing double overtime to defeat Youngstown State 104-95. In their season opener, they defeated Le Moyne at home by a final score of 86-82. In league, they have wins over Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Notre Dame. Their lone road win is at Boston College, which they won 79-71.

The Orange are led by junior guard J.J. Starling, who is averaging 18.8 points per game on 45.6% shooting from the field, 31.1% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.0% shooting from the foul line. The other two players scoring in double figures on average are freshman forward Donnie Freeman (13.4 points & 7.9 rebounds) and graduate student center Eddie Lampkin, Jr. (10.3 points & 9.0 rebounds). The three of them form a decent trio.

As a team, the Orange average 74.9 points per game on 45.3% shooting from the field, 31.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 68.9% shooting from the foul line. They average 38.0 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 4.7 steals, 2.6 blocks, and 12.5 turnovers per game. They also average a +3.5 rebound margin and a -2.6 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 78.0 per game on 45.8% shooting from the field, 34.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 72.0% shooting from the foul line.

Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Starling. He’s the go-to guy for the Orange. If they can contain him and keep him under his scoring average, they should be in a good spot to win this game.

The second thing Stanford needs to do is hold their own inside. The Orange do a decent job on the glass and have a couple bangers down low in Freeman and Lampkin. If guys like Maxime Raynaud, Chisom Okpara, and Donavin Young go to work inside, Stanford should be fine.

Finally, Stanford needs to see if they can speed up Syracuse and force them to turn the ball over. The Orange’s ball security isn’t great and that’s something that Stanford should look to take advantage of defensively. Jaylen Blakes and Benny Gealer should look for opportunities in the backcourt to get some steals.

Prediction: I got Stanford winning by a final score of 82-72. I could see this being a game where Stanford pulls away late, but regardless, Stanford is the easy pick here. Syracuse honestly isn’t very good.

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