Syracuse may not match up well with Boston College, but coach Jim Boeheim likes its prospects in the NCAA tournament. Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Every Friday, one reader challenges SI.com's Seth Davis in picking 10 weekend games. Check back each Tuesday to read Davis' Hoop Thoughts column and see how the two fared, and submit your picks for the next week.

This week's challenger is Mike Pavis, Bethlehem, Pa.

Featured Game of the Week

No. 9 Syracuse at No. 6 Boston College, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim can usually be counted on to give an honest assessment of his team. When I called him this week for his take on the Orange, Boeheim, not exactly an optimist by nature, sounded as if he liked his team. Note: I didn't say he loved his team. But he likes it. "We're pretty good, and we're getting better," Boeheim told me. "I can't say we're one of the top three or four teams in the country, but we're definitely better than we were last year. Our problem is overly physical teams give us trouble."

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That's a noteworthy observation heading into Saturday's date at Boston College. Of all the things to like -- and love -- about BC, clearly the most prominent is that the Eagles are real physical. Craig Smith is as strong and skilled a power forward as there is in the country. Jared Dudley has great perimeter skills for someone who's 6-foot-7, but he can hit the glass with the best of them. (Witness his 12 rebounds in Wednesday's win over Rutgers.) BC's guards, Sean Marshall and Louis Hinnant, are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-4, respectively. Not only is this team big and physical at every position, but it plays a style specifically designed to take advantage of that attribute. BC is ranked second in the Big East in scoring defense (conference games only), and third in rebounding margin.

Syracuse, we have a problem.

If you're asking me which team will go further in the NCAA tournament, I'd probably say Syracuse. But in this game, in this setting, I like BC. Boeheim pointed out to me that his team is actually better-suited for success in the tournament because teams are unfamiliar with Syracuse's style. They don't know how to properly attack that 2-3 matchup zone, and they're not as committed as they should be to never leaving Gerry McNamara, not even for a fraction of a second. Teams in the Big East are more used to going up against Syracuse, and BC's strength happens to be well-suited to take advantage of Syracuse's weaknesses.

What about BC's weaknesses? Well, since we only have one loss to work with, let's look at last week's slipup at Notre Dame. In the first place, Notre Dame has two players, Torin Francis and Dennis Latimore, who are big enough and athletic enough to bother Smith. He ended up with just nine points on 4-of-14 shooting. Second, BC does not score a lot of points (though it's getting better at this). If it runs into a team with a lot of different offensive weapons, it can hurt them. Notre Dame's perimeter trio made 55 percent from 3-point range that night. That was enough to squeak out a three-point win at home.

Syracuse has neither high-quality big men nor a bevy of outside bombers. It has a great player in Hakim Warrick, but he doesn't like to be pushed away from the goal. On Saturday he'll be pushed -- a lot. (The manner in which this game will be officiated is critical.) To knock off BC, the Orange will need a good performance from someone like Josh Pace, Louis McCroskey or Terrence Roberts. In a big road game, however, I'm not sure I see that happening. I like Syracuse a lot, but in this game, in this setting, I love BC.

Seth's Pick: Boston College 71, Syracuse 66

Another tough defeat for a BC team, that will come down to earth a little more after really only beating an overrated (or overachieving?) UConn earlier this year.

Reader's Pick: Syracuse 68, BC 65.

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