West Virginia at Syracuse Preview

The West Virginia Mountaineers (16-8, 7-5) come to the Carrier Dome to take on the No. 20 Syracuse Orange (20-6, 7-6) tonight at 7 p.m. (ESPN).

Significance: The Orange had a rough week, losing two frustrating games against ranked opponents. Syracuse is no longer playing must-win games, it is now in the "must-get-our-s**t-together-zone."

Three Pointers:

1. Will the Orange win another home game?: It's kind of a ridiculous question, but it has been nearly a month (Jan. 15th) since Syracuse won a home game. The lack of a home court advantage doesn't help either. Syracuse needs to grab an early lead and keep the crowd in it, or risk losing a fourth straight home game.
2. Syracuse should contain West Virginia from beyond the arc: The Orange should be able to avoid the barrage of three pointers they faced against Seton Hall, Villanova and Louisville. The Mountaineers are not a strong outside shooting team, shooting only 32% from three.
3. The Orange must take advantage inside: Syracuse needs to use its considerable size advantage by pounding the ball inside and controlling the glass. Rick Jackson, who struggled last week, should get his usual double-double tonight.

And One: Syracuse doesn't have momentum going into this game, but the Orange has won 16 out of the last 19 match-ups with the Mountaineers.

Prediction: The Mountaineers don't have enough firepower to light up the Orange. This game could potentially turn into an ugly, low-scoring game full of turnovers and missed shots.
Syracuse 66, West Virginia 61

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