The Syracuse Orange and the Virginia Tech Hokies meet Saturday in college basketball action from Cassell Coliseum. Syracuse is 13-11 on the year so far. The Orange beat Boston College in their last game. As for Virginia, they’re sitting at 14-10 and coming off a win over Pittsburgh. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Syracuse started out the year on a choppy run. The Orange were just 9-11 through their first 20 games and had only won consecutive matchups three times. Syracuse has hit their stride lately with a win streak over Wake Forest, NC State, Louisville and Boston College, though.
In the Boston College game, the Orange held a 10-point lead by halftime. Syracuse managed 39 points in the second half and held on for the 73-64 victory. Cole Swider led the team on 21 points and eight rebounds. Joseph Girard chipped in 19 points as well.
Over on the Virginia Tech side, they managed to go 10-7 to start the year before hitting a losing streak to Boston College, North Carolina and Miami. The Hokies then picked it up with wins over Florida State, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh (twice).
In the rematch game versus Pitt on Monday, the Hokies were in control the whole way. Virginia Tech scored 35 points in the first half and 39 more in the second for a 74-47 blowout win. Tops in scoring was Keve Aluma on 18 points and six boards.
The Hokies are 1-4 ATS in their last five Saturday games and 1-6 ATS in their last seven after an ATS win. The over is 6-2 in Virginia Tech’s last eight at home.
Meanwhile, the Orange are 4-0 ATS in their last four overall and 5-2 ATS in the last seven after an ATS win. The under is 4-1 in Syracuse’s last five road games.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on Virginia Tech. The Hokies offense is working well over this four-game win streak; they’ve hit 74 or more points in each game and held opponents to 66 points or fewer in two of them. Virginia Tech has been competitive in their losses as well: four of the last five defeats have come by five points or fewer.
As for Syracuse, they’re on a nice run themselves lately and should score a good amount of points in this one. I like a high-flying affair with lots of buckets between the two teams in this matchup. Should be a fun one to check out.