The Texas Southern Tigers will travel to Carrier Dome to take on the Syracuse Orange. Action begins at 2:00 pm ET on Sunday, Dec. 27 and can be seen on ESU and ES3.
The Orange enter this game hoping for similar success after blowing out Montana State 82-60 in their last matchup. Michael Gbinije was the game’s leading scorer with 17 points on 7-for-17 shooting. The Tigers, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 83-73 loss against Iona in their last game. Orlando Coleman led the game in scoring with 23 points.
This one isn’t expected to be close when Syracuse, a substantial 17-point favorite, takes on Texas Southern. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 139 points. The Orange have gone 9-3 Straight Up (SU) and 6-5 Against The Spread (ATS). The Orange are one of the best in Division I in terms of three-point field goals, making 8.0 shots per game from beyond the arc. Opposing teams know they’re in for a battle when they play Syracuse’s stingy defense. The Orange are one of the top teams when it comes to defense, allowing just 63.9 points per game. Syracuse’s defense can be considered one of the best in the country. The Orange allow a .384 opponent field-goal percentage, one of the lowest shooting rates in the country. Opponents have consistently had the ball stolen by the Orange, who rank 19th in the country in steals per game with 8.9.
As for their opponent, it’s hard to argue with the ATS failures of Texas Southern. The Tigers are clearly doing something wrong with a 0-2 record ATS to go along with a 1-9 record SU so far.
This game will be the first meeting for Syracuse and Texas Southern in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Syr, ATS Winner – Syr, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Syracuse’s last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Syracuse’s last 5 games at home.
Texas Southern scores just 67.6 points per away game (ranked 204th). Syracuse ranks 43rd in points allowed at home, giving up 59.7 points.
The Syracuse Orange have a defensive rating of 95.8 (ranked 77th), while the Texas Southern Tigers have an offensive rating of 100.6 (ranked 247th).
Syracuse has an average field goal percentage of 42.3%. Texas Southern is an abysmal 1-8 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Syracuse Orange rank lower for their field goal percentage (251st) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (171st), but the Texas Southern Tigers have a better FG% ranking (187th) than eFG% ranking (200th).
Syracuse, the 37th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.3 per game. Texas Southern does worse, ranked 332nd with 1.8.
Syracuse makes an average of 8.9 steals per game, ranked 19th in the country. Texas Southern has not won a game this season when it has given up 8 or more steals (0-2).
