Monday night college basketball and we will see the Syracuse Orange travel to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. The game has a start time of 7:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN. Current Vegas betting odds have North Carolina listed as 10.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 138.5.
Analysis: The Syracuse Orange have won 8 of their last 10 games, but they do come in off a tough 66-62 home loss to Miami on Saturday. The Cuse now stand at 14-6 overall, 5-2 in the ACC and 2-2 in true road games. The Orange 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 vs. the ACC and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. Syracuse has been an average offensive team this year, ranking 154th in scoring (68.4 ppg), 161st in shooting (43.8%), 256th in 3 point shooting (31.9%) and 301st in FT shooting (64.8%). Defensively the Cuse have been very good as they come in ranked 36th in points allowed (59.8 ppg), 16th in defensive FG% (37.8%) and 20th in 3 point defense (29.2%).
The North Carolina Tar Heels have won 10 of their last 11 games, including their last 5 in a row since their lone ACC loss to Notre Dame. The Heels now are 16-4 overall, including 6-1 in the ACC and 8-2 at home. The Heels have gone 23-10 ATS in their last 33 home games vs. a team with a losing road record, but 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 2-10 ATS in their last 12 vs the ACC. North Carolina has been a very good offensive team this year, ranking 17th in scoring (79.4 ppg), 54th in shooting (46.4%), 258th in 3 point shooting (31.8%) and 154th in FT shooting (69.6%). Defensively the Heels have been rather average, ranking 168th in points allowed (65.7 ppg), 11th in defensive FG% (37.1%) and 10th in 3 point defense (27.7%).
Pick: Going to look to the Over in this one. The Cuse play excellent defense and the teams don't shot well from long range, but I still feel the pace of play will be up in this one. North Carolina has a way of getting teams to their ;pace of play, especially at home where their games have averaged 143.5 ppg so far this year. The Heels have played some decent defense this year but in their last 5 games they have allowed 69.6 ppg, while the Cuse have allowed 66.7 ppg in their last 5, which is up 7 ppg from their YTD ppg allowed. Syracuse has struggled to score on the road, especially in the ACC, but we also note that they did play Clemson, Georgia Tech and Va Tech in ACC road games and all three of those teams limit the possessions a team will get. Carolina will not do that. The Orange will have plenty of chances to score. The Heels have averaged 80.5 ppg at home this year and three of their 4 ACC home games have all been played at 141 points and higher. The Over is 14-5 in the Tar Heels last 19 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600, while the Over is 7-3-1 in Syracuse's last 11 vs. the ACC and 5-1-1 in their last 7 off a SU loss. I expect 145+ here.
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for CBB Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!
Handicapping Tips: Super Bowl Prop Betting
Steve Fezzik, from Pregame.com, gives out some of his favorite Super Bowl props, plus some tips for tackling Super Bowl props.