Beat writers predict Syracuse to cruise past Eastern Washington
Elijah Hughes will make his Syracuse debut against Eastern Washington on Tuesday. TJ Shaw | Staff Photographer
Syracuse hosts Eastern Washington for the first time on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to open the Orange’s regular season. SU comes off a Sweet 16 run a year ago, while EWU played in the College Basketball Invitational after its fourth-straight winning season. Syracuse brings all five starters back, while the Eagles lost one of its best players in program history to graduation.
Here’s what our beat writers think will happen on Tuesday in the Carrier Dome.
Charlie DiSturco
Smooth sailing
Syracuse 75, Eastern Washington 59
There is no doubt that Syracuse will win this game, and by a lot. Even with a few injuries hampering its full rotation, and junior Tyus Battle likely starting at point guard on Tuesday night, the Orange will dominate Eastern Washington. There are few teams as deep and well-rounded as Syracuse, not to mention SU has a big size advantage over EWU. This will be an easy win for the Orange, who will open the regular season with a bang.
Matthew Gutierrez
On the right foot
Syracuse 72, Eastern Washington 50
Syracuse will undoubtedly win its 15th consecutive regular-season opener. So, the most intriguing thing to happen Tuesday night probably will be the continuation of an emerging theme: junior guard Tyus Battle running point guard. Unless Frank Howard or Jalen Carey recovered from their respective injuries at a rapid pace last week, Battle will take the point for the third-straight game. He proved to be a much better floor general in his second outing at the position last week, and he figures to offer another glimpse of his ball-handling and court-vision capabilities against EWU. Let’s see it.
Billy Heyen
Syracuse 81, Eastern Washington 64
Eastern Washington graduated Bogdan Bliznyuk, the leading scorer in Big Sky history. The next six-highest scorers are back, but there’s never a simple answer to replacing a program great like Bliznyuk. Will EWU finish with its fifth-straight winning season? Probably. Will the Eagles have figured out its offense by the season’s first game? Probably not. The 3-point shot will let Eastern Washington hang around, but Syracuse’s size advantage — EWU doesn’t have a player taller than 6-foot-9 — and improved offense will make opening night relatively smooth sailing for the Orange.
