Notre Dame vs Syracuse 12/3/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Syracuse Orange and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish meet in ACC college basketball action from the Purcell Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.

The Syracuse Orange will be out to snap a three-game losing skid after a 73-44 loss to Illinois on the road last time out. Judah Mintz leads the Orange in scoring and assists with 15.1 PPG and 3.1 APG while Jesse Edwards has 13.7 PPG and a team-high 11.3 RPG to lead the Wolverines in rebounding, averaging a double-double per game this season. Joseph Girard III has 13.4 PPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Syracuse up to this point in the season. As a team, Syracuse is averaging 70.4 PPG on 43% shooting from the field, 32.5% from three and 70.9% from the foul line this season.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will look to build on their 70-52 win over Michigan State last time out. Nate Laszewski leads Notre Dame in scoring and rebounding with 16.9 PPG and 8.6 RPG while Dane Goodwin has 14 PPG with 4.7 RPG and J.J. Starling has 13 PPG with 3.4 RPG. Cormac Ryan has 11.9 PPG with 4.3 RPG and Trey Wertz has 11.3 PPG with a team-high 4.7 APG to lead the Irish in assists and to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Notre Dame up to this point in the season. As a team, Notre Dame is averaging 74 PPG on 49.1% shooting from the field, 36.5% from three and 81.3% from the foul line this season.

Syracuse is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games against a team with a winning record while the under is 4-0 in their last 4 games following an ATS loss. Notre Dame is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games overall and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 home games while the under is 5-2 in their last 7 games following a win.

I get the case to be made for the Orange here, as these conference rivalry games can be tricky. Three of the last six meetings have also been decided by two points or less. However, the two meetings last season weren’t, and the home team won both meetings convincingly. I also don’t like what I’ve seen from Syracuse in the losses to Bryant and Illinois as well as the games against Colgate and St. John’s earlier this season. Notre Dame also been rock solid at home and while it’s important not to overreact to some results, I think there’s cause for concern with Syracuse here. Give me the Irish.