The SEC/ACC Challenge tips off around college basketball and the first game of an ESPN doubleheader features Syracuse of the ACC visiting No. 3 and unbeaten Tennessee of the SEC.
The Vols are big favorites on the NCAAB odds in Week 5.
| Opening NCAAB Lines Subject to Change: Tennessee -18.5 (total 143.5) Expert Prediction: Tennessee 80, Syracuse 68 |
Syracuse Orange NCAAB Line +1213
Syracuse (4-2) has been off since an 82-72 win over Cornell on Nov. 27. The freshman tandem of Elijah Moore and Donnie Freeman was crucial for the Orange throughout. Both notched career highs in the scoring column, 23 for Freeman and 19 for Moore. Freeman tallied his third career double-double, adding 12 boards, while Moore grabbed a personal best seven rebounds. Moore’s 13 first-half points off the bench sparked the Orange to close the period on a 33-9 run to secure a lead they’d never relinquish.
Congrats @DonavanFreeman1 👏🔥
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) December 2, 2024
He’s been named ACC Co-Rookie of the Week for his 23-point, 12-rebound effort in last week’s win. pic.twitter.com/zpmdnrB1PT
Game Review
SU went on a 20-3 run over a six-minute span late in the first half to erase an early 11-point deficit and closed the half with a 39-28 lead. Moore scored 13 points in the first frame after entering the contest with a previous collegiate career high of eight. Freeman was one board shy of a first-half double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds before halftime. The Orange got 32 bench points in the win, with Moore’s tally aided by Lucas Taylor’s nine points.
The Cuse committed just six turnovers in the game, its fewest turnovers in nearly two seasons since turning it over four times at Notre Dame on Dec. 3, 2022. Syracuse went 17-of-20 from the free throw line, continuing a strong shooting stretch, where they’re now 41-for-48 over their last two contests. On the season, Syracuse is averaging 16.5 free throw makes per contest, which is more than two what the Orange allow to its opponents.
Adrian Autry
Coach Autry used his second different starting lineup of the season, with Jyare Davis getting his first start in Orange. He replaced Eddie Lampkin in the opening rotation. Lampkin entered the game at the under-12 minute timeout of the first half. Freeman, Chris Bell, Jaquan Carlos and JJ Starling all started their sixth-straight contest to open the season.
While Autry refrained from calling out any player in particular, he admonished the overall defense vs. Cornell — including how results on the offensive end tend to influence the defense.
“Until we get to that point, it’s going to be up and down. Until this team understands we gotta play defense and don’t let the offense impact the defense,” the head coach said. “We’ve got enough (talent). We’ve got enough. But we can’t continue to have performances like these.”
JJ Starling
Starling is Syracuse’s top scorer this season and is No. 2 in the ACC in points per game, as the guard is averaging 19.8 per contest. He has scored double figures in all six of Syracuse’s games. The junior’s 38 points against Youngstown State on Nov. 16 were the most an ACC player has scored in a game this season and the most by a Syracuse player since Cole Swider also had 38 at North Carolina on Feb. 22, 2022. Starling played a career-high 49 minutes and scored 31 of his 38 points in the second half and overtime against Youngstown State.
Against SEC Teams
This will be Syracuse’s second contest against an SEC team this season, as the Orange fell to Texas on Nov. 21 at the UKG Legends Classic, 70-66. Syracuse has a 33-25 record all-time against all 16 SEC opponents. The Orange have the best record in SEC competitions against Missouri at 5-1. The most common SEC opponent for the Orange is Kentucky, who leads Syracuse in the series, 8-3.
The Turnovers
Two facets where Syracuse holds edges in this non-conference collision are in the turnover arena and on the boards. Tennessee commits 12.6 turnovers per game, as compared to 9.7 for the Orange. On the glass, Syracuse basketball averages 43.0 rebounds per contest. The Volunteers corral 38.6 boards per.
^Tennessee Volunteers NCAAB Line -3333
No. 3 Tennessee (7-0) hasn’t really been tested yet this year and is off a 78-35 blowout of UT Martin on Nov. 27. The Vols) never trailed and led for over 38 minutes, including by 20-plus for the final 11:35 and by 30-plus for the last 5:56, in the intrastate matchup. Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier tallied a game-high 18 points for the victors.
The Top Players
Along with Lanier, who hit at least four 3-pointers for the fourth time this season, two other Volunteers reached double figures in the scoring column. Senior guard Zakai Zeigler registered 11 points to go along with a game-high nine assists and a team-best two steals. Junior forward Felix Okpara posted 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and a game-leading 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, for his first double-double in a Tennessee uniform, plus blocked a game-best four shots. The boards and blocks totals for Okpara both set season highs.
Igor Miličić Jr.
Senior forward Miličić Jr. put up nine points to go along with a game- and season-best 13 rebounds, while senior guard Jahmai Mashack once again stuffed the stat sheet, amassing seven points, six rebounds, a season-high four assists and one steal.
Game Review
Tennessee doubled up UT Martin in both offensive and defensive rebounding, compiling a 20-10 margin in the former category—its most offensive rebounds since Dec. 11, 2022—and a 29-14 figure in the latter, good for an overall mark of 49-24. The Volunteers also had 22 assists and 11 turnovers, while conceding just eight assists and forcing 18 giveaways.
Rick Barnes’ club held the Skyhawks to a 22.6 percent (12-of-53) field-goal mark, including 14.8 percent (4-of-27) total in the second half. Only twice in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) has Tennessee allowed a lower single-game field-goal percentage than it did against the Skyhawks, while just once has it given up fewer than 12 makes.
UT Martin’s 35 points marked the fewest Tennessee has allowed in nearly 51 years, dating to Dec. 15, 1973, when it gave up just six to Temple. It was the fifth time in the shot-clock era (since 1985-86) the Volunteers have allowed under 40 points in a game, with this the third such occurrence in the last five seasons.
The Record
Tennessee increased its non-conference home winning streak to 32 consecutive games, a stretch that dates to the 2020-21 season opener. The Volunteers are 7-0 for the fourth time since the turn of the century, including the second time in five years. They led for 266:15 and trailed for just 4:39 of a possible 280 minutes.
All seven of UT’s wins thus far are by 15-plus points, with five by at least 22 and three by at least 35. Tennessee has held a lead of 26-plus points in each of its six contests this season and still has not faced a deficit larger than three.
a notable defensive performance:
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) November 30, 2024
• 35 points allowed → fewest since Dec. 15, 1973
• <40 points allowed for the 5th time in shot-clock era (since 1985-86)
• 12 field goals conceded → tied for 2nd-fewest in arena history
• 3rd time under Barnes allowing a FG% below 23% pic.twitter.com/Pm8DSooufv
AP Top 25
UT moved up to No. 3 in the new AP poll. This is the 64th week Tennessee is in the AP Poll, a stretch spanning four years that dates to the 2021-22 preseason edition. That tally is 27 weeks longer than the program’s previous record and is the third-longest active mark in the country, trailing only Houston (90) and Kansas (69), while no other school is even at 45-plus. The closest SEC team is Kentucky (26), tied for ninth overall and 38 weeks shy of Tennessee. In addition, UR ranks first in the country in the initial edition of the NCAA’s NET rankings and second overall in KenPom’s rankings.
^How to Bet Syracuse at Tennessee Lines NCAA Basketball
When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET Where: Food City Center, Knoxville TV: ESPN Stream: ESPN+
^Syracuse vs Tennessee Last Meeting
Tennessee holds a 4-3 edge in the series and has won the last three meetings between the teams, which includes a 73-56 victory over the Orange in the quarterfinals of last year’s Maui Invitational. Prior to their meeting last year in Maui, the Orange and Volunteers had not met since 2002. The last Syracuse victory over Tennessee came on Nov. 28, 1993.
^🚨 FIRST NET RANKINGS OF 2024-25 🚨
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) December 2, 2024
1. Tennessee
2. Auburn
3. Gonzaga
4. Duke
5. Pittsburgh
6. Florida
7. Marquette
8. Kentucky
9. Kansas
10. Illinois
The NET Rankings are used by the Selection Committee and updated daily 👉 https://t.co/WcAiGNRwth pic.twitter.com/TEwcJXn8cG
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2016 Syracuse vs Middle Tennessee State
After two huge upsets in the first-round of the 2016 College Basketball Tournament, Syracuse and Middle Tennessee State University will meet this Sunday in the second round at 6:10 p.m. (Eastern) at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The Orange, the No. 10 seed in the NCAA’s Midwest Region, bested Dayton 70-51 on Friday, while Middle Tennessee State secured a spot in the Round of 32 with a 90-81 upset of the No. 2 seed Michigan State Spartans. So let’s get on the March Madness betting action and check the odds for this thrilling match.
Syracuse vs Middle Tennessee State NCAA Basketball Odds and Preview
When: Sunday, March 20, 2016, 6:10 PM ET Where: Scottrade Arena, St. Louis, MO TV: CBS Radio: Syracuse ISP Sports Network Live Stream: NCAA March Madness Live NCAAB Odds: Syracuse (-6) Did you know that 97% of the brackets filed on ESPN.com had Michigan State beating Middle Tennessee State in the first round? And 22% had them going to the final of the tournament? Not so fast. Middle Tennessee State, the #15 seed in their region, knocked off the mighty Spartans in the first round, 90-81. They will meet another team that pulled off a surprise win in the #10 seed Syracuse Orange, who beat #7 seed Dayton in the first round quite easily, 70-51.
Why should you bet on the Syracuse Orange?
Syracuse started off the season in terrible form, thanks in part to the ridiculous way the NCAA handled Jim Boeheim’s nine-game suspension, initially having it take place during ACC games and then deciding that it would start sooner, throwing the program into chaos since the season had already started. Since Boeheim’s return, the Orange have played more like themselves. The Orange play a 2-3 zone, which might make you think they will have a hard time rebounding, but they dominated Dayton 45-28 on the boards. Tyler Roberson grabbed 18 rebounds all by himself. Malachi Robinson dropped 21 points on the Flyers, and if those two are going well, they should reach the Sweet Sixteen easily.
Why should you put your money on Middle Tennessee State?
Middle Tennessee State has now won seven games in a row. In the upset over Michigan State, they had three players hit more than half of their shots from downtown. They also snatched 14 turnovers from the Spartans, using a harassing defense to force the Michigan State guards into turnovers. They opened a 15-2 lead in the first minutes of the game and led the entire way. Syracuse has a tougher defense than Michigan State, though, so the Blue Raiders will have a harder time jumping out to that sort of advantage. Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction I like the Orange to use their 2-3 defense (kind of an outlier in the man-to-man era) to frustrate the Blue Raiders. I also don’t see Middle Tennessee continuing to hoist the three with that much efficiency. I’m predicting a Syracuse win by the score of 74-64.
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