Smu Mustangs vs Syracuse Orange Picks and Predictions March 12th 2025

SMU Hopes to Avoid Letdown vs. Upstart Syracuse

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — SMU is looking to make an impact in its first season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Syracuse hopes to keep its momentum going after an opening-round victory in the ACC tournament.

SMU Looking to Strengthen NCAA Tournament Resume

Sixth-seeded SMU (22-9) will take on No. 14 seed Syracuse (14-18) in a second-round matchup on Wednesday night. The Mustangs, who earned a first-round bye, need a strong tournament showing to bolster their NCAA Tournament credentials. That starts with the program’s first-ever game in the ACC tournament.

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“I don’t think anybody is satisfied,” SMU coach Andy Enfield said.

SMU’s last outing was a 76-69 loss at Florida State on Saturday, capping off a regular season in which the team alternated wins and losses in its final eight games.

Boopie Miller, SMU’s leading scorer (13.4 PPG), is no stranger to the ACC tournament, having played for Wake Forest last season. He contributed 11 points last week against Syracuse in his first game back from a five-game injury absence.

Syracuse Looks to Extend Tournament Run

Syracuse edged Florida State 66-62 on Tuesday night, ending the coaching career of retiring Leonard Hamilton. The Orange now aim to avenge last week’s 77-75 loss to SMU, when Keon Ambrose-Hylton’s late tip-in secured the win for the Mustangs.

Syracuse has been in plenty of tight games this season, many of which ended in frustrating defeats.

“We’ve been in them, and I think what we talked about before, we felt like in all those games, we made some silly mistakes or didn’t kind of come through,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said.

JJ Starling played a key role in Syracuse’s win over Florida State, scoring 27 points, including 11 of the team’s 12 points in a crucial second-half stretch.

“We’re trying to survive and advance another day,” teammate Jyare Davis said. “J.J. did a good job of taking over and we’re all just happy for him.”

Syracuse relied heavily on its starters, with four players logging at least 30 minutes on Tuesday. Autry may need to turn to his bench more in this second-round matchup.

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“Those guys, they had a good rhythm,” Autry said. “I thought the guys that came off the bench gave us a good lift, as well. But I think this team is really good because we can go eight, nine guys, sometimes ten. That’s a good thing to have. We do have some depth, and I’m not afraid to use them.”

What’s Next?

The winner of Wednesday’s game will face third-seeded Clemson in the ACC quarterfinals on Thursday night.

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