The Syracuse Orange and the Texas Longhorns meet Thursday in college basketball action from Barclays Center. Here’s a Texas vs Syracuse prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Texas vs Syracuse pick.
Syracuse Orange Betting Preview
Syracuse opened up their season with a trio of wins—but a couple of them came by very slim margins. The Orange’s first game was an 86-82 victory over Le Moyne. Game two was another victory, this time 74-72 against Colgate.
In their latest matchup on Saturday versus Youngstown State, Syracuse notched their biggest win so far. The Orange needed two overtimes to get there though, eventually prevailing 104-95. Eddie Lampkin (20 points; 13 rebounds) and Donnie Freeman (19 points; 12 rebounds) each doubled up.
Texas Longhorns Betting Preview
Over on the Texas side, they kicked off the season with a tough matchup against Ohio State and lost 80-72. The Longhorns prevailed in the next pair, however, taking out Houston Christian 90-59 and Chicago State 105-58.
Another blowout victory was in store for Texas in game four on Saturday versus MS Valley State. The Longhorns were up by 10 points going into the second half and eventually won 89-43. Both Arthur Kaluma and Tre Johnson had a team-high 18 points.
Why the Texas Longhorns will win
- Syracuse has lost each of its last four games after coming off overtime.
- Texas has won each of its last six Thursday night games against non-conference opponents.
- Texas has won the first half in 24 of its last 25 games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
Why the Syracuse Orange will win
- Syracuse has won each of its last nine games against non-conference opponents.
- Texas has lost four of its last five night games played at neutral venues.
- Syracuse has won the first half in 10 of its last 11 games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
Texas vs Syracuse Prediction
I’m going with Texas. The Longhorns have been cruising against overmatched teams since their opener loss, and they’re coming off a dominant effort versus MS Valley State. Texas notched a blistering 64.4 percent shooting in that one with 35 rebounds and just seven turnovers. The Longhorns have scored 89 or more points in three straight games now.
As for Syracuse, they’ve been flirting with disaster all season so far, eking out slim victories. The Orange shot just 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from 3-point range and 25-of-38 (65.8 percent) from the line in their latest win over Youngstown State, but did get 50 rebounds. It’ll be much more difficult to find any sort of offense or rebounding against Texas.