
Clemson vs Syracuse Prediction 1/22/25 College Basketball Picks Today
Syracuse (9-9) vs. Clemson (15-4)
January 22, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Clemson -15.5; Over/Under:
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The Syracuse Orange and the Clemson Tigers meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Littlejohn Coliseum. Here’s a Clemson vs Syracuse prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Clemson vs Syracuse pick.
Syracuse Orange Betting Preview
Syracuse opened up their 2024-25 campaign on a good run, then hit a rough stretch starting in late November. Since then, however, the Orange have cleaned up their act and are looking better in the record column. Syracuse took out Le Moyne, Colgate, and Youngstown State in their first three games, then hit a 3-8 stretch with wins over only Cornell, Albany, and Bucknell. Otherwise, it was losses to Texas, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Maryland, Wake Forest, and Florida State during that time. Since then Syracuse has been able to right the proverbial ship a bit on a 3-1 run over their last quartet of outings. The Orange have a loss to Louisville in that time alongside wins versus Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Notre Dame for a .500 overall record through their first 18 outings of the season.
In the Notre Dame matchup over the weekend, the Orange came out of the locker room with a 42-33 deficit. Syracuse woke up in the second half, taking a 44-27 run toward a 77-69 victory in the end. Leading the team in scoring during the win was JJ Starling with 21 points, four boards, and two steals with one assist. Eddie Lampkin managed a double-double with 13 points, 11 boards, four assists, and three steals, while Kyle Cuffe added 13 points and two rebounds in 21 minutes of work off the bench.
Clemson Tigers Betting Preview
Over on the Clemson side, they’ve had one spotty stretch this year, going .500 for a period in December/January. Other than that, however, the Tigers have been a model of consistency. Clemson hit a 9-1 run out of the gate with a lone loss to Boise State among wins over Charleston Southern, St. Francis PA, Eastern Kentucky, Radford, San Francisco, Penn State, Florida A&M, Kentucky, and Miami. a 3-3 stretch came after that, featuring losses to Memphis, South Carolina, and Louisville around a trio of consecutive victories versus Wake Forest, Stanford, and California. Since then it’s been three straight wins for Clemson though, as they’ve taken out Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh for a 15-4 overall run so far this year.
Matched up against Pitt over the weekend, the Tigers held a 40-30 edge by the break. Clemson gave it away in the second half however, and needed a 12-9 overtime run for a 78-75 victory in the end. Leading the team in the stat columns was Chase Hunter with 20 points, five boards, and two assists. Ian Schieffelin managed a double-double with 15 points, 11 boards, and three assists. Jaeden Zackery chipped in with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists in 41 minutes of work on the court during the win as well.
Why the Clemson Tigers will win
- Clemson has won each of its last 10 night games at Littlejohn Coliseum.
- Syracuse has lost each of its last five games at Littlejohn Coliseum.
- Clemson has won the first half in each of its last eight night games at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Why the Syracuse Orange will win
- Syracuse has won three of its last four games.
Clemson vs Syracuse Prediction
I’m going to lean toward Clemson, but you could make a case either way here. Should be a pretty intriguing matchup. The Tigers are coming off a nice recovery in a tricky road win over Pitt, shooting 50.9 percent from the field with 51.9 percent (14-of-27) from 3-point range and a 32-30 rebounding edge. Clemson did fumble away 13 turnovers for 17 Panthers points, though. The Tigers have been putting up some pretty nice points totals lately; they’ve got 70 or more in eight of their last nine games—an 8-1 run.
As for Syracuse, they didn’t play all that well statistically versus Notre Dame in their last outing but still pulled off the win. The Orange have given up 69 or more points in three straight games now (a 2-1 stretch) so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a fairly high total here. I like Clemson slightly better cover-wise, but it’s close.