Wake Forest vs Syracuse Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/31/24

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Syracuse Orange meet Tuesday in college basketball action from the JMA Wireless Dome. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Wake Forest vs. Syracuse prediction.

Wake Forest Recap

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons come into this game looking to bounce back after ending up with a 73-62 loss at the hands of Clemson on the road in their last matchup. After this matchup with the Orange, Wake Forest will head home to welcome NC State to town to kick off 2025.

Demon Deacons Looking For Rebound Against ‘Cuse

Hunter Sallis leads the Demon Deacons in scoring with 17.8 PPG along with 4.2 RPG and 3.1 APG while Cameron Hildreth has 12.6 PPG with 4.5 RPG and a team-high 3.5 APG to lead the Demon Deacons in assists as the only other double-digit scorer for Wake Forest up to this point in the year. Tre’Von Spillers also has 9.5 PPG with a team-high 9.3 RPG to lead the Demon Deacons on the glass up to this point in the year and Efton Reid III has 7.6 PPG with 6.1 RPG as well this season. As a team, Wake Forest is averaging 67.5 PPG on 42.8% shooting from the field, 26.5% from three, and 73% from the foul line this season.

Why the Wake Forest Demon Deacons will win

• Wake Forest has won nine of its last 10 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Syracuse has lost each of its last three games against the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Syracuse Recap

The Syracuse Orange come into this game looking to build on their 75-63 win over Bucknell in their last game to climb back to .500 at 6-6 on the year. After this game, Syracuse heads for a matchup against Florida and Georgia Tech.

Orange Looking For First Conference Win

Donnie Freeman has 13.7 PPG and a team-high 8.1 RPG to lead Syracuse in rebounding while Eddie Lampkin Jr. added 10.4 PPG and 7.3 RPG with 2.7 APG as well on the year. Chris Bell has 10.3 PPG with 3 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for the Syracuse Orange so far this season. Jyare Davis has 9.3 PPG with 5 RPG and Elijah Moore’s added 8.3 PPG while Jaquan Carlos has also added 6.3 PPG with a team-high 5 APG to lead Syracuse in the assist department up to this point in the year. As a team, Syracuse is averaging 77.3 PPG on 46.6% shooting from the field, 29.1% from three, and 69.2% from the foul line this season.

Why the Syracuse Orange will win

• Wake Forest has lost each of its last seven away games when playing with a rest advantage.
• Syracuse has won nine of its last 10 games at JMA Wireless Dome.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Wake Forest’s last eight day games has produced a total of 142 or fewer points.
• Eleven of Syracuse’s last 12 games at JMA Wireless Dome have produced a total of 145+ points.

Wake Forest vs. Syracuse Prediction

I’m on Wake Forest here. The Demon Deacons haven’t necessarily been a money maker this season, but I think this is a matchup that suits them. Syracuse predominantly scores their points from inside the arc, as they’re a top-10 team in terms of points scored from 2-point range as over 60% of their points are coming from 2. The problem for the Orange is that Wake Forest is a top-10 2-point defense and that takes away their main supply of offense. I think Wake Forest is a better team than what they’ve shown to this point and I just feel like there are more avenues for success for the Demon Deacons here. Give me Wake Forest.