Canisius vs Syracuse Prediction - College Basketball Picks 11/8/23

The Canisius Golden Griffins and Syracuse Orange face off on Wednesday in a college basketball showdown at the JMA Wireless Dome. Here's a free pick on this game.

New Era Gets Out on Right Foot for Syracuse

It’s a new era for Syracuse, and they were able to secure the victory. In the first game against New Hampshire, the defense wasn’t exactly great, but they were still able to secure the 83-72 victory. At halftime, they were up 44-32, but in the second half they were outscored and the defense gave up 40 points. Judah Mintz finished with 20 points, three rebounds, and three assists. It was a balanced attack with five different players that finished with at least 10 points. Syracuse shot 41.8 percent from the field but only 23.8 percent from deep. They need to try to improve on that shooting from deep. 

Canisius Brings Back Veteran Group

Canisius has eight players back from last year's squad, including three starters and they hope that can help them this season. The only player that left is Jacco Fritz who left for Hofstra as a graduate student. Tahj Straveskie had a big year last year, and he’s going to need to have a big season again here. Last season he averaged 12.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. At times last year the defense was a major problem, and it’s going to need to be something that is cleaned up in this game. The offense also needs to have a big game and attack the defense of Syracuse.