The Duke Blue Devils and Syracuse Orange split their pair of regular season meetings a season ago with the road team coming out on top in each instance. The Dookies then got the last laugh in the ACC Tournament when they scored the 84-72 triumph but failed to cover the closing 12.5-point spread at online sportsbooks. Syracuse has had all sorts of issues in the recent rivalry dropping seven of the last 10 meetings, but has gone a money making 5-2 ATS in the last seven. With it coming up winners in just nine of 15 home games, Jim Boeheim’s kids are going to need to put forth a stellar effort to hand the Blue Devils their second road defeat of the season.
This ACC showdown will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2020. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET from the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN. So make sure to fill out your March Madness Bracket today!
CBB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
Lost in the news of Coach K scolding the “Cameron Crazies” for chastising former player and coach Jeff Capel in Tuesday’s win and non-cover against PITT was the fact that it never once was able to get ahead of the 16.5-point spread set by linemakers. The Panthers had a run of their own every time it looked like the Blue Devils were going to run away and hide. The 79-67 final came as quite the disappointment after going into the break leading by 11. The fact that Pittsburgh also shot more free throws in Durham is bothersome. After allowing the Panthers to shoot 44 percent from the field with most of the damage done by PITT guards streaking to the basket, you can’t help but think defensive drills will be turned up in practice leading up to Saturday.
Syracuse had been playing some stellar basketball leading up to Tuesday night’s road tilt in Littlejohn against the Clemson Tigers. The Orange had come out on top in each of their previous five games with the triumphs logged against Virginia on the road, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame on the road and then back home against the same PITT squad that held its own in Cameron Indoor. It had a golden opportunity to extend the win streak against the Tigers, but ultimately came up short when Clyde Trapp added to his career-best night with the win-clinching shot with just 2.5 seconds remaining. The 71-70 defeat halted the win streak and dropped the Orange to 6-4 in ACC play (7-3 ATS).
Key Player
Big man Elijah Hughes has been playing like a man possessed ever since Syracuse has turned its season around. Over the course of the team’s five-game win streak, he averaged 18 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In the hard-fought defeat at Clemson, he went for 22 points and four rebounds. The Orange lofted 27 3-point shots in that game and connected on only eight of them with Hughes hitting 2 of 4. Syracuse depends on its 3-point shooting to win games with the long ball accounting for 37.3 percent of the 73.2 points averaged per game (No. 42). Unfortunately, this will be a bad matchup for their sharpshooters with Duke ranked No. 88 defending the 3-ball and 22.7 percent of points conceded coming from beyond the arc (No. 8). The Dookies do however struggle to defend the paint with over 60 percent of points scored coming from 2-point range (No. 348). With that, Hughes and the rest of Syracuse’s bigs must make hay down low to compete all the way through.
Prediction
The series history between these rivals in the Carrier Dome has been pretty cut and dry. When the Orange win, they cover. When they lose, they don’t. That’s been the “MO” ever since these squads started opposing one another in conference play dating back to 2014. So, if you think Buddy Boeheim and the guys have a shot to win this game, you take the points. I don’t, so I’ll be laying the chalk on Saturday night with a Duke team that’s failed to impress (or cover) in its last two road tests against Clemson and Georgia Tech.
College Basketball Pick: Duke 82, Syracuse 69
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