Wisconsin isn’t the team it was last year, a number of players are gone and Bo Ryan is trying to lead the team through a bit of a transition while still being competitive. For those that have refused to fade the Badgers, that’s cost a pretty penny early.
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HOW THE WISCONSIN BADGERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Orange are without head coach Jim Boeheim whose serving his nine game suspension. That’ll help the Badgers who will have Bo Ryan on their side of the court.
Even with the coaching edge, the Badgers will need to produce on the court to cover the spread.
The team is learning what life is like without Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker and others and are a bit shorthanded compared to the team Ryan had a season ago.
Regardless of the diminished talent and a bad loss to Oklahoma on Sunday, the Badgers still managed a nice win over VCU a week ago and can hold onto that as they look for a nice bounce back game on Wednesday.
A bounce back game is exactly what bettors should be looking for as well.
In Sunday’s loss, Wisconsin got a double-double from Nigel Hayes who had 20-points and 11-rebounds in defeat. For those looking for a silver-lining, in addition to what Hayes provided, to support backing them on Wednesday, Bronson Koenig shot just 3-for-18 from the floor and shouldn’t be that bad against Syracuse.
Another reason for optimism is the potential return of Brevin Pritzl who’s questionable. When he’s able to return the freshman could provide a spark after playing just four minutes in his debut before the injury.
HOW THE SYRACUSE ORANGE CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Badgers have dropped five straight ATS so just by virtue of playing against them, the Orange have a decent shot to cover, at least according to the trends. Add in six straight wins to open the year and things really skew in Syracuse’s favor.
Syracuse’s latest two wins came on a neutral floor against Texas A&M and Connecticut. They managed to cover a 6-point spread in both of those games as well.
The loss of head coach Jim Boeheim has been countered early by the leadership of an experienced backcourt with Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije and Kaleb Joseph. Add in a number of four-star freshman and the talent is certainly there.
In the backcourt, Gbinije and Cooney lead the way with 19.7 and 15.0 PPG averages respectively. Joseph has taken a seat on the bench in favor of one of the talented freshman in Malachi Richardson who’s made a name for himself quickly with 13.8 PPG. Fellow freshman Tyler Lydon leads the way up front as the forward has 11.5 PPG and 14 blocks in just six games.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Five straight losses ATS and a lack of depth behind Hayes make the Badgers a difficult team to back, particularly on the road.
Wisconsin leaned far too heavily on Kaminsky last year to allow for an easy transition here in the 2015-2016 season.
Syracuse, meanwhile, was a bit underrated coming into the year. They found themselves in the middle of the ACC rankings according to many, but even without their head coach began to gel early as Richardson and Lydon made immediate impacts while Gbinije and Cooney give the team a backcourt they can lean on.
The Oranges’ lack of depth past their top six or seven is concerning and it could cause the Orange to wear down as the season progresses. For now, however, this team is deeper than Wisconsin has shown to be.
Be wary of backing Wisconsin until someone other than Hayes can show he can be trusted to produce.
Syracuse 73, Wisconsin 60
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and Syracuse Orange will go down Wednesday, December 2, 2015, with tipoff scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET at the Carrier Dome. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
