What channel is Notre Dame basketball vs. Syracuse on Saturday? Time, TV, prediction

You guys again?

We’re barely two full weeks into Atlantic Coast Conference play and Notre Dame already is circling back to play an opponent it played a little over a month earlier.

It’s Notre Dame (8-9; 2-4 ACC) and Syracuse (8-8; 2-3) for a second time this season, trading one snow-belt campus in Northern Indiana for the other in Central New York as repeat league opponents. There won’t be a third meeting, unless they’re matched together in Charlotte in March at the ACC Tournament.

Notre Dame vs Syracuse basketball start time

What channel is Notre Dame vs. Syracuse basketball on?

Series history

Syracuse leads all-time 34-24 including 17-11 at the Carrier and now JMA Wireless Dome and 9-5 as ACC colleagues. Irish sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry made six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 25 points as Notre Dame beat Syracuse in South Bend, 69-64, on Dec. 7. The win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Orange.

Notre Dame last won in CNY on Jan. 4, 2020, 88-87 (the Prentiss Hubb game).

Keep an eye on …

Notre Dame (8-9; 2-4)

He’s nowhere near the team leaders for points scored or rebounds or minutes played or even starts, but senior guard Julian Roper II remains a valuable piece to the program puzzle when it comes time to do the tough stuff, the dirty work, the junkyard dog stuff.

We saw it again in Monday’s 78-60 win over Boston College. Roper played only 18 minutes and had two points, but tallied a season high seven rebounds with one steal (it felt like he had five). He also finished with a game-high plus-/minus rating of (+26) which means a lot of good stuff happened while he was on the floor.

That Roper played a big part and Notre Dame snapped its four-game league losing streak was no coincidence.

Syracuse (8-9; 2-4)

Let’s try this again with junior (and former Irish guard) J.J. Starling. He missed his return to South Bend in December because of a broken left hand that caused him to sit for seven games. Starling is back and leads the Orange in scoring (18.2 ppg) to go with 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 35.7 minutes. He’s shooting .458 percent from the field., .250 percent from 3 and .700 percent from the foul line.

Starling is coming off his toughest game of the season Tuesday in an 85-61 home loss to Louisville. In 32 minutes, he finished with four points on 1-of-7 from the floor, one rebound, four assists and six turnovers. He’s better than that, something he’ll be ready to show on Saturday.

Notre Dame vs. Syracuse basketball prediction

Notre Dame 70, Syracuse 63: Notre Dame has lost 23 of its last 25 league road games, a streak that has to eventually swing back the other way, right? Remember when Notre Dame won league road games? A lot of league road games? Can we get back to those days, those teams?

These are two average programs, so you give the Irish an advantage based on coaching. Micah Shrewsberry will scheme his team to a needed road dub.