— Tuesday, November 30th Indiana Hoosiers @ Syracuse Orange
When the calendar flips from November to December, that always means it is time for the traditional ACC/Big 10 Challenge on the hardwood. While not the marquee matchup it has been in past years, there’s a lot on the line as the Indiana Hoosiers (6-0) travel to face the Syracuse Orange (3-3). Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at The Carrier Dome in Syracuse, and the contest will air on ESPN2.
The most famous matchup between these teams came in the 1987 NCAA Championship when Indiana won on a last-second jumper from Keith Smart. Since then, the teams have met five times; all wins for Syracuse, including a home win in the 2013 ACC/Big 10 Challenge. That was the most recent matchup as Syracuse won both meetings in the 2013 calendar year, including an NCAA Tournament game in Washington D.C.
Jackson-Davis Leads Hoosiers
Indiana is 4-2 ATS so far this season, and the under is 5-1 in their games. Although they are 6-0 under new coach Mike Woodson, Tuesday’s game will be just their second against a Power 6 program. They beat St. John’s 76-74 in the Gavitt Tipoff Games and also have wins over Marshall and two MAC opponents.
Indiana’s defense has been suffocating against their lesser opponents, allowing 35 to Jackson State, 44 to Louisiana, and 49 to Northern Illinois. They scored at least 70 in all of those games and won each of them by at least 35 points.
All-American candidate Trayce Jackson-Davis is off to a tremendous start this season. He is averaging a team-best 20.5 points per game to go with 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, and 2.5 assists. The 6-foot-9 forward has been nearly unstoppable, shooting 66.2 percent from the floor, and he’s coming off a dominant 43-point game against Marshall.
Indiana will have to shoot over the Syracuse 2-3 zone, and guards Patrick Stewart and Xavier Johnson are key. Stewart is 12-for-26 from deep so far this season, while Johnson is 5-for-9 with a team-high 3.8 assists per game. Overall the Hoosiers are shooting 37 percent from deep, with five players making at least 42 percent.
Inconsistency From Syracuse
It has been a weird start to the season for Jim Boeheim’s squad, and they are 2-4 ATS. They had a 54-game win streak over Colgate snapped in a 15-point loss and also trailed Drexel at halftime. They scored just 55 points in a loss to VCU in the Bahamas and turned around 24 hours later to score 92 points in a win over Arizona State.
Guard Buddy Boeheim leads the Orange in scoring at 20 ppg, but he’s shooting just 40.2 percent from the field and 31 percent from deep. Last season he shot 43.5 percent from the field and 38.3 percent from 3-point range. Boeheim has scored at least 17 in all six games this season with a high of 23.
Joseph Girard III averages 13.8 ppg while Cole Swider is at 12.5 ppg. The Orange starting five is all in double digits, and as a unit, they average 70.4 ppg. But the depth has been horrendous as no bench player averages more than 3.0 ppg.
The vaunted zone defense has also struggled this season, giving up 100 to Colgate, 89 to Auburn, and 84 to ASU. The Orange rank 317th in the country, allowing 77.2 ppg, and rank 308th in 3-point defense at 37.2 percent.
Betting Analysis
- Indiana Hoosiers -2.5 (-110). Money line -140
- Syracuse Orange +2.5 (-110) Money line +120
- Total Points: 147.5 Over -115. Under -105
The Hoosiers haven’t played the toughest schedule in America, but they do rank first in the nation allowing just 32.1 percent from the field. The Orange may find it tough inside and rely on the 3-point shot a little too much. They need to fire up the crowd early and clamp down defensively to give the ACC a win, and so far this season, they’ve not been able to do that.
Betting Pick: Hoosiers -2.5 (-110)
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