Syracuse vs Pittsburgh Preview, Trends and Pick
Tonight the No. 1 ranked Syracuse Orange put their undefeated record on the line against the No. 25 ranked Pittsburgh Panthers, in Pittsburgh.
Syracuse is 23-0 straight up and 12-6-1 against the spread. The Orange is 5-0 on the road and 10-0 in ACC play.
Pittsburgh is 20-4 SU and 7-13-1 against the spread. At home, Pittsburgh is 13-2 and 8-3 in ACC play.
Syracuse is seeking its 24th straight win, which would set a school record. The two teams met in Syracuse on January 18 with the Orange winning by 5 points 59-54 before a crowd of over 30,000 at the Carrier Dome.
The Orange has a tough schedule ahead and due to having some injuries, this could be the biggest challenge the team has had to date.
Syracuse is just one of two Division I schools still undefeated. In their last game, the Orange defeated Clemson 57-44 at home.
Syracuse could be without Baye Moussa Keita its backup center who tweaked his knee on Sunday versus Clemson and is questionable for the game.
Teams have slowed every game down against Syracuse knowing the Orange like to play up-tempo. Most teams feel they have a better shot at shortening the game against the Orange by running down the shot clock repeatedly.
Pittsburgh needed double overtime to defeat Virginia Tech in its last outing at home. They lost to Virginia and Duke in consecutive games before defeating Tech. Even though the Hokies are just 1-10 in ACC play, the game was tough for Pittsburgh.
Pitt also has problems with its lineup as Talib Zanna is playing with an injured ankle and Lamar Patterson has a problematic thumb.
In the first game between the two teams, the late game toughness and confidence was on display for the Orange. Syracuse was able to play with a makeshift lineup and still hold off Pittsburgh, which led the game with less than three minutes to play.
Syracuse has a record of 4-0 ATS over its last 4 games away from home and 4-1 ATS over its last 5 games on Wednesdays.
The Panthers have a record of 2-8 against the number over their past 10 games at home and 0-4 ATS over their past 4 games played overall.
The UNDER is 9-2 over the past 11 games the Orange has played and 8-2 over the past 10 games Syracuse has played against opponents from the ACC.
The UNDER is 4-0 over the past 4 games the Panthers have played on Wednesdays and 4-0 over the last four games the Panthers have played following an ATS loss.
In the past 10 games Pittsburgh has played on their home court, the OVER is 8-2.
Syracuse has a record of 2-5 ATS over its past 7 games played versus Pittsburgh. The Orange are 5-15-1 ATS over their past 21 games played overall versus Pittsburgh.
The line has the Panthers favored at home by 1 point, which says a great deal for Pittsburgh since Syracuse is undefeated and No. 1 in the nation.
Pick: Syracuse 58-57
