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Sportsbook.com Syracuse vs. Michigan betting odds: Syracuse is a -6.5 favorite vs. Michigan in this 8 pm EST game.
Syracuse doesn’t usually leave the state of New York before Big East season begins, but this year they will venture to bordering New Jersey for the Legends Classic in Atlantic City to face Michigan. The Orange have not looked impressive in their past two home games, an 11-point win over Detroit and a 3-point squeaker against William & Mary last Sunday. Michigan is 3-0 this year, making a much bigger statement by outscoring its opponents by 24.0 PPG.
Syracuse’s struggles are mostly due to poor shooting -- 40% FG and 61% FT this season. Kris Joseph (31% FG) is spending too much time behind the three-point line (2-for-14 on threes) and Scoop Jardine continues to take bad shots, going 4-for-17 against William & Mary. However, Jardine has done a great job with his ball-handling this year with 29 assists and just seven turnovers. Jardine should continue to feed Rick Jackson in the post. The burly 6-foot-9 senior has three straight double-doubles and is averaging 13 points and 13 rebounds per game this year. Considering all of Michigan’s big men are freshmen, Jackson should have another big night.
Michigan has a good enough shooting team to dismantle Syracuse’s signature 2-3 zone. The Wolverines are shooting 38% from behind the arc this year, led by Tim Hardaway Jr. (6-for-13) and Stu Douglass (5-for-11). Sophomore Darius Morris leads the Wolverines in scoring (14.7 PPG) and assists (8.3 APG) while shooting an impressive 65.4% from the floor (17-for-26). Six-foot-8 freshman Jordan Morgan has feasted on easy baskets, connecting on 15-of-21 FG attempts. Morgan has 11 offensive rebounds in three games and is tied with junior Zack Novak for the team lead in rebounds (7.3 RPG).
Syracuse is 7-5 all-time against Michigan, winning the last meeting in 1998 in Maui by a score of 58-46. Last season, the Wolverines were 9-2 ATS as an underdog, losing by just 4.5 PPG.
These two college basketball bettingtrends also expect Michigan to cover the spread:
John Beilein is 29-12 ATS (70.7%, +15.8 Units) after playing 2 consecutive games as a home favorite in all games he has coached since 1997. The average score was Beilein 68.6, OPPONENT 63.1 - (Rating = 1*).
Jim Boeheim is 50-72 ATS (41.0%, -29.2 Units) versus good defensive teams - allowing <=64 points/game as the coach of SYRACUSE. The average score was SYRACUSE 69.8, OPPONENT 67.2 - (Rating = 1*).
To check out the rest of tonight’s college basketball betting lines, head over to Sportsbook.com now.
