North Carolina vs. Syracuse prediction, pick, college basketball odds
02/15/2025 07:26 AM
It hasn’t been a good season for the Syracuse Orange, but they’ll look to pull off an upset against an old foe when the North Carolina Tar Heels come to town on Saturday evening. Defeating North Carolina as underdogs at home won’t be a foreign concept for the Orange, as they did last season in their most recent meeting. Syracuse was an eight-point underdog in that matchup and won by seven. North Carolina is attempting to crawl back into the ACC conference race, as they sit in seventh. Meanwhile, it has been a challenging season for Syracuse, as they are 15th in the conference. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a North Carolina-Syracuse prediction and pick.
It has been one step forward and two steps back all season for North Carolina, and it has never been more prevalent than in the past few weeks. The Tar Heels won’t make it into the NCAA Tournament if they continue this trend, as they’ve lost five of their past seven games. The good news for North Carolina is that only one of those losses has come as favorites, with the rest coming as underdogs against Wake Forest, Pitt, Duke, and Clemson. The bad news is that the Tar Heels couldn’t have been happy about being underdogs to some of those teams and weren’t pleased about being 13.5-point dogs to Duke and losing by 17.
Ironically, Syracuse has had the same stretch over the past ten, losing five of seven. The losses have also come against some of the same teams, with Clemson, Pitt, and Duke making the list. The Orange do have three outright wins over their past ten games, though, in which they were underdogs.
Here are the North Carolina-Syracuse College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: North Carolina-Syracuse Odds
North Carolina: -6.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -260
Syracuse: +6.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +210
Over: 154 (-110)
Under: 154 (-110)
How to Watch North Carolina vs. Syracuse
Time: 6 PM ET/3 PM PT
TV: ESPN
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why North Carolina Will Cover The Spread/Win
North Carolina’s defense has been a problem this season, but their offense has shone through. The Tar Heels rank 54th in the nation, averaging 80 points per game. It’ll be hard for Syracuse to contend with that in this game, as the Orange’s defense is one of the worst in the country, with 78.2 points allowed per game.
Why Syracuse Will Cover The Spread/Win
You may look at these teams’ overall and conference records and say that this is a game where North Carolina gets back on track and pulls out a win. However, when we look at it from a betting perspective, we say not so fast. North Carolina may find a way to beat Syracuse in this game as 6.5-point favorites, but that doesn’t mean the Orange can’t cover the spread. The oddsmakers continue to give the Tar Heels too much respect, which has led to them covering only two of their past ten games. Meanwhile, Syracuse covered the spread in seven of their past ten.
Final North Carolina-Syracuse Prediction & Pick
The over seems logical in a battle of two great offenses against two of the worst defenses. However, the oddsmakers adjusted for that, and these teams go under the total more often than not. Instead, we’ll look at the inconsistencies of North Carolina and target Syracuse as a team that may not be getting outright success but is covering plenty of spreads for bettors.
Final North Carolina-Syracuse Prediction & Pick: Syracuse +6.5 (-110)
The post North Carolina vs. Syracuse prediction, pick, college basketball odds appeared first on ClutchPoints.
