North Carolina vs. Syracuse - 2/29/20 College Basketball Pick, Odds, and Prediction
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North Carolina Tar Heels (11-17) at Syracuse Orange (16-12)
College Basketball: Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 4:00 pm (Carrier Dome)
The Line: Syracuse Orange -6 -- Over/Under: 147.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels (11-17, 4-13 CONF) and the Syracuse Orange (16-12, 9-8 CONF) will meet on Saturday, February 29th for an ACC matchup at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY. The game will be played at 4:00 PM eastern time.
UNC is coming off an 85-79 home win over NC State in their last game. That win snapped a seven-game losing streak for UNC, whose wheels have fallen off since the beginning of conference play. Who would have thought that UNC would have been in the cellar of the ACC standings around this time of year? Syracuse is coming off a 72-49 road win over Pittsburgh in their last game. They have now won two games in a row, as they are now fighting to make it to the NIT come postseason time. This is the first and only regular-season meeting between these teams this season.
UNC scores 71.1 points per game on 41.6 percent field goal shooting this season. UNC’s leading scorer and rebounder is F Garrison Brooks, who scores 15.7 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. UNC allows 72.0 points per game to the opposition, therefore they have a -.9 scoring differential so far this season. UNC also earns 42.4 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 3.7 blocks, and 6.0 steals per game as a team.
Syracuse scores 73.9 points per game on 43.6 percent field goal shooting this season. Syracuse’s leading scorer is F Elijah Hughes, who scores 18.8 points per game. The leading rebounder for Syracuse is F Bourama Sidibe, who earns 6.9 rebounds per game. Syracuse allows 69.0 points per game to the opposition, thus they have a +4.9 point differential so far this season. Syracuse also earns 35.7 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 4.4 blocks, and 7.4 steals per game as a team.
UNC is 11-17 against the spread this season and 6-4 against the spread in their last ten games. UNC is also 5-5 against the spread on the road so far this season. Syracuse is 13-15 against the spread this season and 6-4 against the spread in their last ten games. Syracuse is also 6-11 against the spread at home so far this season.
Syracuse, as stated before, is still playing hard to make a bid in the NIT. This is an important game, just as the rest of the games on the schedule are for Syracuse. I think they will take care of business against a North Carolina team that has already closed up shop this season.
Ronald’s Pick Syracuse -6
AUTHOR: Ronald Romanelli
