The madness of March is almost among us as a pair of conference foes will fight for bragging rights as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take on the Syracuse Orange. Join us for our college basketball odds series where our Georgia Tech-Syracuse prediction and pick will be revealed.
Clearly, Georgia Tech has undergone a season to forget as they enter play on Tuesday with a 12-17 record with only two games remaining before the ACC Tournament begins in only a couple of weeks. Regardless, the Yellow Jackets are fresh off of a sixteen-point victory at home versus Louisville and would surely love to continue their winning momentum into this evening.
As for Syracuse, the Orange come into this one with a 16-13 overall record on the season and cannot afford to be committing a plethora of mistakes as their own postseason chances currently sit right on the brink of being eliminated. While their chances to make the big dance remain slightly better than the Yellow Jackets at the moment, the room for error is little to none from here on out.
Here are the Georgia Tech-Syracuse college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Georgia Tech-Syracuse Odds
Georgia Tech: +9.5 (-115)
Syracuse: -9.5 (-105)
Over: 142.5 (-110)
Under: 142.5 (-110)
How To Watch Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse
TV: ACC Network
Stream: WatchESPN
Time: 7:00 ET/4:00 PT
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Georgia Tech Could Cover The Spread
Ever since Georgia Tech found themselves stuck in the mud during the midst of a horrendous nines-game losing streak that ultimately saw their postseason dreams be dashed, they have won four out of their previous six games overall and certainly appear to be trending in the right direction. Alas, this bodes extremely well for Georgia Tech in the coming weeks as they have finally figured out the missing ingredient which results in winning games consistently.
In order to find a way to cover the spread later tonight against Syracuse, the Yellow Jackets will need to receive another phenomenal outing from standout Javon Franklin. A senior forward from Little Rock, Arkansas, Franklin is only averaging roughly around nine points per game this season but was absolutely automatic in Georgia Tech's victory over Louisville with 21 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Without a doubt, Georgia Tech will need solid minutes from a multitude of names on this roster to get the job done this evening, especially considering that the Yellow Jackets are only 1-9 on the road this season.
Above all else, if there is one thing that Georgia Tech needs to perfect while on the hardwood today, it is the fact that they need to take advantage of getting stops on the defensive side of the floor to remain in striking distance. On paper, this is a roster that struggles offensively as they rank near the bottom of most statistical categories within the ACC, so playing some suffocating defense resulting in some points off of turnovers will be critical for their chances to cover.
Why Syracuse Could Cover The Spread
Although Syracuse seems like the more well-rounded unit between these two conference foes at first glance, the Orange still need to take care of business in impressive fashion to cover a rather large 9.5 point-spread in which they are currently favored by. Thus far, the Orange have compiled a 15-13-1 overall record against the spread in 29 games played, but have recently embarked on a three-game losing streak at the worst possible time imaginable.
First things first, the biggest area for concern that has taken place for this team during their losing skid has been their inability to get stops consistently on defense. Overall, this is a roster that has surrendered 72.3 PPG on average, as they have exhibited that they may have more holes in their defense than Swiss cheese. Nevertheless, the defense has gotten worse as of late as they have allowed their competition to score at least 90 points in their previous pair of outings.
Clearly, getting out-rebounded and giving up second-chance opportunities has also been a thorn in the side of Syracuse. On paper, the Orange have been edged in the rebounding department in their last four games and counting. For obvious reasons, Syracuse must make it a priority to corral the basketball off of the glass more frequently than the Yellow Jackets if they want to improve their record against the spread this season.
All in all, the outcome of this one may come down to Syracuse's above-average three-point shooting in where scoring may be barren. With a downtown shooting clip sitting at 36.5%, which is good for fourth in the conference, it will be critical for Syracuse to make Georgia Tech pay by knocking down wide-open three's to put the Yellow Jackets out of their misery.
Final Georgia Tech-Syracuse Prediction & Pick
There is no doubt that this Tuesday night matchup has major implications. However, with the way Syracuse has been playing as of late and with Georgia Tech appearing to be on an upward trend, hammer the Yellow Jackets to keep this one close regardless of their road woes.
Final Georgia Tech-Syracuse Prediction & Pick: Georgia Tech +9.5 (-115)
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