Syracuse vs SMU Prediction 3/4/25 College Basketball Picks

The Syracuse Orange and the SMU Mustangs meet Tuesday in college basketball action from SMU Moody Coliseum. Here’s a Syracuse vs SMU prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Syracuse vs SMU pick. We will examine: 

The Syracuse Orange’s recent form and player performance

The SMU Mustangs’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Syracuse Orange

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the SMU Mustangs

Recent betting trends in games played between Syracuse and SMU

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Syracuse vs SMU game

Syracuse Orange Betting Preview

The Orange have had quite the rocky year so far, and it’s left the team five games below the .500 mark in the record column. Syracuse went 6-8 in their first 14 games, then beat Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Notre Dame in a four-game span during January. A 2-4 run came next with wins over Cal and Boston College among losses to Clemson, Pitt, Stanford, and Duke. Since then it’s been a 1-4 stretch with a lone win over NC State. The Orange have otherwise lost to Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Virginia Tech during that time. That gives Clemson a 12-17 record across 29 games so far this season.

In the Virginia Tech matchup over the weekend, the Orange were looking good after the first half on a 47-38 advantage. Syracuse was blitzed 44-35 from there, however, and ended up taking the loss in overtime 101-95. Jyare Davis led the team with 21 points, two rebounds, and one assist, while Eddie Lampkin doubled up on 16 points with 12 rebounds and three assists. JJ Starling chipped in 16 points as well, and Kyle Cuffe came off the bench for 13 points. 

SMU Mustangs Betting Preview

Over on the SMU side, they’ve been pretty spotty over the last couple of weeks but overall it’s been a good season aside from that. The Mustangs lost to only Butler and Mississippi State in their first 13 games, then took consecutive losses to Duke and North Carolina. An 8-1 run with wins over Georgia Tech, Virginia, Miami, NC State, Cal, Stanford, Virginia Tech, and Pittsburgh came next. Since then, however, it’s been a 2-3 stretch for SMU. Those wins were over Notre Dame and California. The losses otherwise came courtesy of Wake Forest, Clemson, and Stanford. In total that gives the Mustangs a 21-8 record across their first 29 outings so far. 

Matched up against Stanford on Saturday, SMU came out of the first half with a 45-39 deficit. The Mustangs got slightly better from there on a 29-28 advantage but ended up taking the loss at the end 73-68. Chuck Harris led the team in the losing effort with 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Kario Oquendo added 15 points with three rebounds, while Matt Cross had 13 points with three rebounds and one assist in 36 minutes of work. 

Why the SMU Mustangs will win

• SMU has won each of its last six night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Syracuse has lost each of its last four night games after coming off overtime.

Why the Syracuse Orange will win

• The road team has won four of SMU’s last five games.

Syracuse vs SMU Prediction 

I’m staying with SMU. The Mustangs do need a good bounce-back after a weekend loss to a pretty solid Stanford team, though. SMU didn’t shoot too badly in that one (45.1 percent) but they gave up 54.5 percent on the other side and had 12 turnovers for 18 Cardinal points. The Mustangs have been below 70 points in each of their three defeats during this 2-3 run, so getting above that threshold would be a great sign here. 

As for Syracuse, they shot well (54.1 percent) in their loss to Virginia Tech but also gave up 60.7 percent on the other side. The 14 turnovers for 22 Hokies points didn’t help either. Syracuse has given up 80 or more points in six of the last seven games, so SMU should have plenty of scoring opportunities on Tuesday.