Syracuse started the season off with a 25-0 SU and 15-6 ATS record, but their unbeaten streak came to an end on Wednesday when the Orange lost to Boston College 62-59 at home.
Duke vs Syracuse betting preview, odds, trends, prediction
Duke and Syracuse both come off rare losses, but the Blue Devils are favored in college basketball betting Saturday.
Rich Barnes
The Orange will attempt to bounce back on Saturday on the road against the Duke Blue Devils as a 6-point underdog.
Boston College entered Wednesday night’s game with a 6-19 SU record and a 2-10 record in ACC play. Syracuse was expected to cruise to an easy victory at home but was instead stunned by the Eagles, losing outright as a 13.5-point favorite.
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In its previous game, Syracuse edged out a 56-55 win over NC State as a 13.5-point favorite. The Orange have not looked sharp at all this week, and will need to re-find their form in a hurry with Duke looming.
Duke also enters Saturday’s game coming off of a loss, losing 74-66 as a 2-point road favorite Thursday night against North Carolina. Before the loss, Duke was 8-1 SU and ATS over its previous nine games, per closing lines at 5Dimes.eu.
Being back at home should help the Blue Devils as all six of their losses this season have come away from home. Duke is 14-0 SU and 9-5 ATS at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season.
These two teams met for the first time in 16 years earlier this month in Syracuse and the Orange came away with the win in a 91-89 overtime thriller. With both schools having such strong basketball programs, this could become an excellent rivalry in the coming years now that Syracuse has joined Duke in the ACC.
Duke is the top-rated team in college basketball power rankings at Odds Shark, while Syracuse is No. 35.
In addition to having an outstanding home court advantage, Duke is also the significantly stronger team on offense in this matchup. The Blue Devils rank 17th in the nation in points per game with 80.6 while the Orange rank 174th with 69.6 PPG.
Since scoring 91 against Duke, Syracuse has averaged just 58.2 PPG in five straight games that have gone UNDER the total. In their current form, the Orange likely can’t afford to get into another track-meet type of game against Duke on Saturday if they want to keep this one close.
Odds Shark Prediction: 74-66 Duke
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