College Basketball Betting – Syracuse Orange at Virginia Cavaliers

Two surging teams meet in a crucial ACC battle on Monday when the Syracuse Orange visit the Virginia Cavaliers. UVA extended its winning streak to six in a row beating Georgia Tech over the weekend to remain the lone unbeaten in conference play. Facing a ranked foe in consecutive games, the Orange looks to complete the sweep after beating No. 16 Virginia Tech handily for their first win over a top-25 team in a year. The Cavs are unbeaten at home and hit the board as a 6-point favorite on the college basketball betting line.  Join Bookmaker.eu now and claim your generous welcome bonus (max bonus $1600)

Syracuse Orange at Virginia Cavaliers
Date and Time: Monday, January 25, 2021, 7 p.m. ET
Location: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA
Opening College Basketball Odds: Virginia -6, O/U 129
Syracuse at Virginia TV Coverage: ESPN

Odds Analysis

Syracuse picked up a signature win over the weekend knocking off No. 16 Virginia Tech 78-60, its second straight following a two-game losing streak. The Orange closed as a 1-point favorite earning a second straight payout. Those last two covers came at home with things taking on a different look Monday. Cuse is 1-3 SU and ATS on the road with a 10-point setback at then-No. 21 Rutgers in December. Overall the Orange is 9-4 SU and 6-7 ATS. Since losing to No. 1 Gonzaga the day after Christmas, Virginia is on a roll going 6-0 SU and 4-2 ATS. The Cavs had their three-game ATS winning streak stopped on Saturday failing to cover the 8.5-point line in their 64-62 win over Georgia Tech. Overall the Cavs are 10-2 SU and 7-5 ATS opening as a 6-point favorite in this one.

Syracuse Orange

COVID took a chunk of games off the Syracuse slate and left the team shorthanded with starting guards Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard dealing with the virus. That was a huge blow for a team that doesn’t have a lot of depth to begin with. The Orange went through a stretch where they lost three of four games going 0-4 ATS.

With the starting backcourt getting healthy so is Syracuse. Boeheim and Girard each scored 23 points in an 83-57 rout of Miami last week. And apparently just having them in the lineup is a boost. The two didn’t produce nearly as much against Virginia Tech yet the Orange still posted a dominant 78-60 win showing they can change things up when necessary. Instead of relying on the three-pointer, the Orange scored 64 points in the paint and at the free throw line. They attempted a season-low 13 triples in their second straight victory.

A concern heading into Monday’s tilt has to be the team’s depth. Only seven players saw action on Saturday with all five starters playing at least 33 minutes. Boeheim and Girard combined for just 12 points getting outscored by reserve Kadary Richmond, who tallied 13 points in 15 minutes. UVA makes you play a full 40 minutes so Cuse will have to get valuable minutes off the bench.

Virginia Cavaliers

The Cavs are playing like one of the best teams in the country. Since a humbling setback to top-ranked Gonzaga last month, they’ve rattled off six straight wins with their signature defensive pressure leading the way. The Zags put up 98 points against them, however since then the Cavs are allowing an average of just 57.8 points with no team scoring more than 68 in that stretch. UVA surrenders an average of just 59.6 points for the season.

The Cavs have always been one of the better defensive teams in college basketball under Tony Bennett. Throw in a potent offense and they become more of a threat. They scored 80 points in a win over Notre Dame and topped Clemson 85-50 shooting over 60 percent from the field while making 15 of 27 three-pointers. The point total against Clemson was their most in a regulation ACC game in Bennett’s tenure. As a team the Cavs shoot 50.5 percent from the field and nearly 39 percent from behind the arc placing among the top-25 nationally in both categories.

Flashing their comeback ability, the Cavs used a 15-2 second half run fueled by 11 Sam Hauser points to get past Georgia Tech. They have a balanced attack with four players averaging at least 10 points led by Hauser at 14.5.

Bet Syracuse at Virginia at BookMaker.eu

The Cavs are playing good basketball entering this matchup having won six in a row. The defense has been dialed in since getting scorched by Gonzaga and the offense isn’t bad either. UVA has more depth than Syracuse, which is still trying to get the backcourt back to full health. And it’s hard to score against the Cavs even for a team at full strength.

College Basketball Score Prediction: Virginia 73, Syracuse 62

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com