After falling to Pittsburgh, 72-61, Syracuse (10-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) will get its second shot at its first conference win of the season against No. 13 Miami (11-1). If SU loses, it will be the first time since the ’98-99 season that the Orange has started 0-2 in conference play.

Here’s how our beat writers predict Syracuse’s matchup with Miami will unfold on Saturday.

Sam Blum (10-4)

Miami 74, Syracuse 68
Life’s a beach

Mike Hopkins is coming dangerously close to laying an egg in his brief first stint as Syracuse’s head coach. Without any significant wins, a loss to Miami does just that, and unfortunately for the longtime assistant, the Orange doesn’t match up with one of the best teams in the country. The Hurricanes have only one loss this season — to Northeastern — but have won by at least 10 in all but one other game. Syracuse keeps it close, again, but loses.

Jesse Dougherty (10-4)
Miami 78, Syracuse 68
Welcome to 2016

Syracuse competed for 35 minutes before the wheels fell of against Pittsburgh, but Miami will put away the Orange well before the last five minutes. SU showed on Wednesday that it can compete with a more physical ACC team, but the Hurricanes’ four-out offense with talented guards surrounding Tonye Jekiri will be too much for the zone to handle.

Matt Schneidman (9-5)
Miami 73, Syracuse 61
Hurricane season

At a practice earlier this season, Mike Hopkins stood at the foul line with the ball in his hands, demonstrating how big men can beat the zone by finding a seam atop it. The first name that came out of his mouth was Tonye Jekiri, Miami’s big man who is one of the best in the ACC. He, and the offensive powerhouse Hurricanes, will be too much for the shallow Orange to handle in its second consecutive conference loss.

Published on January 1, 2016 at 7:31 pm