The Syracuse Orange picked up a much-needed victory over top-10 foe Florida State last time out, and wants to keep stacking up the wins as the regular season winds down. The next chance will be in another ACC matchup against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
Syracuse must hit the road for this matchup, so it won’t be easy, and the Orange could really use the win to bolster their case for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. North Carolina State has stumbled in conference play following a solid non-conference season and could really use a victory.
Don't miss the hardwood action from the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 1, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN2.
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Odds at BookMaker.eu
Syracuse is 13-9 straight up and 8-9 against the spread. The Orange have played in five games away from home but have performed poorly, failing to cover in any of them.
Syracuse has been the favorite in 11 games this year and covered in six of them. It is 2-4 against the spread as the underdog.
North Carolina State is 14-8 straight up and 9-11 against the spread. The Wolfpack has played in 11 games at home this season and has covered in six of them. North Carolina State is 7-6 against the spread as the favorite this season but only 2-4 against the spread of the underdog.
Player to Watch
Dennis Smith Jr. – The freshman guard for NC State scored a season-high 32 points in the Wolfpack’s win over No. 17 Duke on January 23rd, but was held to a season-low eight points in the team’s loss to No. 13 Louisville on January 29th. He leads the team in points per game, averaging 19.5 in addition to 6.5 assists per game.
Smith’s big game against Duke marked the young player’s third 30-plus point game of the season and his second one this month having also scored 31 points against Georgia Tech on January 15th. He also had 27 points and 11 rebounds against No. 21 Virginia Tech on January 4th.
After an up-and-down couple of games last week, Smith will look for another strong performance this week against Syracuse. He is the team’s biggest weapon right now but also gets some help from senior guard Terry Henderson who is averaging 14.5 points per game.
Key Stat
68.4. That’s how many points per game the Syracuse defense is holding opponents to this season. The Orange held No. 6 Florida State, a team that averages 83.7 points per game, to just 72 points in their upset win on January 28th.
This week, Syracuse faces an offense is NC State that is averaging 81.7 points per game behind Smith. The Wolfpack was held to just 60 points in their loss to Louisville on Sunday.
The Orange held its first six opponents of the season to 60 points or less and has held a total of 11 opponents to that mark or below this season. The defense hasn’t been quite as dominating lately, holding opponents to an averaging of 74 points per game over the last five contests.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Both of these teams are trying to sneak into the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and this is a critical game for each. Syracuse enters on a two-game winning streak, knocking off Wake Forest before the big upset of Florida State.
The Orange have shown a tendency to peak at the end of the season over the past few years and would love to do the same in this one. North Carolina State has beaten ranked teams Louisville and Duke this season but also enters as losers of five of its pasts seven.
The pick is for Syracuse to continue its hot streak with a victory on the road.
College Basketball Odds: Syracuse 78, NC State 72
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