The Syracuse Orangemen travel into LittleJohn to take on the Tigers tonight at 7pm. The Tigers are 10-9 (4-5 ACC) while the Orangemen are 13-7 (6-3 ACC).
The Orangemen come in riding a five game winning streak in conference play. The Tigers are looking to continue their home winning streak that includes a win over #3 Duke two weeks ago.
One thing the Tigers will have to do in this game is work to contain both Buddy Boeheim and Elijah Hughes from the three point territory. Some believe these two are the best three point shooting duo in the country. The good thing for the Tigers is that they are one of the better defenses that Syracuse has faced this season.
The Tigers have really struggled to find their identity on offense this season. Only one other team in conference has shot more three pointers than Clemson, but the issue is that they’re hitting on just 31.4% of those shots, good for 14th in the league.
The Tigers have shot well from inside the arc, hitting on 51.6% of all two point attempts, which is third in the conference. However, only one other team in the ACC has taken fewer non three point shots than the Tigers this season.
Another thing the Tigers will need is a better outing by Amir Simms if they want to beat Syracuse. Simms only scored four points in the loss at Louisville Saturday and just seven points in the win at Wake Forest last Tuesday night. Simms had scored at least 8 points in 15 of the first 17 games, until this two game stretch.
As far as injuries, it looks like the Orangemen will be without Jalen Carey (G), John Bowl Ajak(C), Robert Braswell(F), with Howard Washington(G) being a game time decision.
Probable Starters
Syracuse: G Joseph Girard (11.9 ppg), G Buddy Boeheim (16.2), F Marek Dolezaj (10.2), F Elijah Hughes (19.2), F Bourama Sidibe (5.5)
Clemson: G Clyde Trapp (6.0 ppg), G Curran Scott (7.3), G John Newman (9.8), F Tevin Mack (11.6), F Aamir Simms (13.8)
The big question tonight is can the Orangemen go into LittleJohn and silence the roar or can the Tigers meet the challenge and continue their winning streak at home?
