West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Syracuse Orange Odds

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Syracuse (-10.5)
Game Total Line: (140.5)
(wagering lines available at Topbet)

The West Virginia Mountaineers invade the Carrier Dome this Saturday afternoon to square-off against the Syracuse Orange in a matchup between two of the top teams in the Big East. The game is set to tip-off at 1 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.

West Virginia fell to 5-3 straight-up in the conference with a 78-62 loss to St. Johns this past Wednesday as a 7.5-point road underdog. It is now 15-6 SU on the year and 11-7 against the spread. The Mountaineers are 4-4 SU (3-5 ATS) on the road this season and the total has gone ‘over’ in six of the eight games.

The big two for West Virginia this season have been Kevin Jones and Darryl Bryant. Jones leads the team in scoring with an average of 20.9 points and rebounds with 11.6 while shooting 54.9 percent from the floor. Bryant is chipping-in another 17.4 points a game but has struggled from the field; hitting just 37.2 percent of his shots. Overall, the team is shooting 46 percent from the field, but just 33 percent from three-point range.

Syracuse bounced-back from its only loss of the season with a 60-53 victory over Cincinnati as a 5.5-point road favorite this past Monday. It is now 21-1 SU overall and 8-1 SU in Big East play. The Orange are 14-7 ATS on the year and the total has gone 9-11-1. They remain a perfect 14-0 SU at home this season and 8-5 ATS. The total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of the 13 games.

Much of Syracuse’s success this season can be attributed to its tremendous balance and depth. It has 10 different players that are averaging over 11 minutes of playing time a game and seven players averaging at least seven points a game. It could be without its leading rebounder Fab Melo on Saturday as he continues to battle through some academic issues.

The Mountaineers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following an ATS loss and 7-0 ATS in their last seven games following a SU defeat. The total has gone ‘over’ in five of their last eight games on the road and in five of their last six conference games.

The Orange are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games played on a Saturday and 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in their last four games at home.

Head-to-head in this series the home team is 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings and the total has stayed ‘under’ in six of the seven games. West Virginia is 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings and 0-5 ATS in its last five trips to the Carrier Dome.

Spread Betting Pick

The loss of Melo for this game would hurt, but still stick with the Orange to win and cover the spread. Playing at home, they are just too deep and talented for the Mountaineers.
Take Syracuse -10.5 at 5Dimes and get reduced juice.