Syracuse @ Notre Dame

Who will WIN this matchup?

Syracuse Orange (9-4)

@ Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-4)

Current odds:

Syracuse Orange: (-125)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: (+105)

• The line for this game is Syracuse by 1.5 points.

• Syracuse kicks off its ACC schedule with a visit to Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. The Orange finished their non-conference play on a two-game winning streak, while the Fighting Irish fell at No. 10 Virginia Tech in their first conference action on New Year’s Day. Syracuse ensured that St. Bonaventure wouldn’t pull off an upset against the Orange for a second consecutive year as it stepped up on the defensive end in the 81-48 rout last Saturday. The Bonnies couldn’t solve the Orange’s 2-3 zone defense, turning the ball over a season-high 25 times and shooting 35 percent, including 3-of-19 from the 3-point line.

• Notre Dame got off to a rocky start in January as Virginia Tech’s Ty Outlaw hit three 3-pointers during a 22-9 run in the second half to help the Hokies pull away for the 81-66 win Tuesday. “We gave ourselves some chances a couple times. Just couldn’t get over the hump on the road against a really good team. They made every big shot any time we kind of got within striking distance,” Irish coach Mike Brey told the media after the game.

• The Orange recorded 17 steals against St. Bonaventure and turned them into 32 points. Syracuse hit seven of its first eight shots and guard Tyus Battle scored 10 of his team’s first 12 in his game-high 21-point performance. Junior forward Elijah Hughes had 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while freshman guard Buddy Boeheim – coach Jim Boeheim’s son – chipped in with a career-high 12 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

• Leading scorer T.J. Gibbs led the way offensively against the Hokies with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting, pushing his season scoring average to 14.5 points. The Irish knocked down 13 triples – the fifth time this season that they have hit 10 or more 3-pointers in a game – but did so on 34 attempts. Notre Dame will look for a better start on Saturday, especially when it comes to taking care of the ball, after committing nine of its 11 turnovers in the first half against the Hokies.

• Syracuse leads the all-time series 28-21 but Notre Dame has won two straight, with both wins coming in ACC regular-season play over the last two seasons.

• Irish F John Mooney leads the ACC in double-doubles with six and is third in rebounding with 9.4 per game.

• Syracuse is averaging 71.6 points, second-worst in the ACC.