It will be a battle between Atlantic Coast opponents when the Syracuse Orange (15-8) welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies (12-10) to Carrier Dome. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 2 and will air on EFC and ES3.
The Orange won a close one over Georgia Tech 60-57 on Saturday. Michael Gbinije led all scorers on the team with 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting. The Hokies, meanwhile, are coming off a deflating 90-71 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday. Seth Allen had a game-high 28 points.
Allen has been on fire over the last five games for the Hokies, averaging 19.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.6 three-pointers.
Syracuse is a nine-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 142 points. The Orange are attempting to build on their records of 15-8 Straight Up (SU) and 11-11 Against The Spread (ATS). Syracuse is excellent from the perimeter with 203 three-pointers made (8.0 per game), the 29th-most in the country. Turning to the defensive side, the Syracuse defense has been very good, only giving up 64.4 points per game. The Orange have stifled opponents’ efforts from beyond the arc, allowing a three-point field goal percentage of only .299.
Across the court, the Hokies head into the game with records of 9-6-1 ATS and 12-10 SU. Most recently, Virginia Tech is 7-3 ATS over the last 10 games. The last 10 games have really brought the worst out of the Hokies on the defensive end. They allowed 81.3 points per game during that span, which is higher than their season average of 73.8.
Syracuse and Virginia Tech will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Orange were winners, moving their SU record against Virginia Tech to 6-0. However, with a 4-2 record, Virginia Tech has the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Syr, ATS Winner – Syr, O/U – Over
Notes
Syracuse is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Syracuse’s last 6 games.
Syracuse is 12-3 SU in its last 15 games at home.
Syracuse is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Virginia Tech.
Syracuse is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Virginia Tech.
This season, Syracuse holds an even 5-5 SU record against Atlantic Coast teams and Virginia Tech sits at 4-5 against these opponents.
Virginia Tech scores just 72.9 points per away game (ranked 112th). Syracuse ranks 43rd in points allowed at home, giving up 61.7 points.
The Virginia Tech Hokies average 71.4 possessions per game and 1.075 points per possession. The Syracuse Orange earn fewer possessions with 64.9, but they score more points with 1.086.
Syracuse has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.6%. Virginia Tech is a subpar 4-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Syracuse attempts 24.0 three pointers and Virginia Tech attempts 15.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Syracuse Orange have a winning 12-7 record while the Virginia Tech Hokies are even at 2-2.
Syracuse, the 84th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.3 per game. Virginia Tech does worse, ranked 144th with 3.7.
Syracuse averages 8.3 steals per game, ranking 24th in the country. Virginia Tech is an underachieving 2-4 when it gives up at least 8 steals.
