Syracuse Connecticut Betting – Orange Desperately Hope To Stop Slide In New England
The Syracuse Orange were flying high at 18-0 just a few weeks ago. Now, they’re 18-4 and feverishly looking for answers; their season is spiraling out of control, and they need solutions.
NCAA basketball betting: Syracuse Orange @ Connecticut Huskies
Why To Bet On Syracuse
In the annals of Super Bowl betting case histories, last year’s game – Super Bowl XLIV – stands out as an example of a team finding a way to win when it wasn’t expected to do so. The New Orleans Saints were frankly lucky to get past the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. They needed a penalty, poor game management, and a Brett Favre interception to survive a Minnesota drive that penetrated New Orleans’ 35-yard line. The Saints pulled out an overtime win, but when the Super Bowl arrived, the Indianapolis Colts – who registered a convincing win over the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game – were playing at a much higher level. The Saints were a quick-strike offensive team, but they knew they had to mix things up to beat the Colts. Sure enough, just when people began to doubt them, the Saints responded by playing with a level of patience on offense that they didn’t ordinarily display. New Orleans threw short passes instead of getting greedy, and that’s how the Saints kept Peyton Manning off the field. New Orleans scored an upset victory and changed the way the Super Bowl was played.
The challenge is very similar to what Syracuse faces at Connecticut. The Orange have to be patient offensively; they’ve developed a habit of hoisting threes without moving the ball or making defenses work to stop them. Coach Jim Boeheim is failing to instill a sense of patience into his club, but a four-game losing streak could be just the thing that will provide a wake-up call. UConn is barely skating by and actually lost a home game last Saturday to Louisville. Syracuse can certainly walk into Storrs, Connecticut, and grab a win of its own.
Why To Bet On Connecticut
The sports betting odds realize that Connecticut’s long-term prospects are very uncertain, because the team depends way too much on one player, superstar guard Kemba Walker. The man who lit up opponents at the Maui Invitational in late November is not shooting the ball as efficiently as he once did. Walker went just 7-of-23 from the field in Saturday’s loss to Louisville. The burden of being the man everyone looks to for scoring production is beginning to wear on the New York native. However, with all of that having been said, playing Syracuse is a one-shot deal, not a season-long challenge, and after firing so many blanks against Louisville, the odds say that Walker will play better and shoot the ball with more accuracy in this one contest. The prospect of Connecticut losing two home games in a row is not very likely.
How The Game Will Play Out
The online betting verdict here is that Connecticut usually defends its home court with pride and resilience. Syracuse needs a win, but the Orange – while impatient at the offensive end – are getting exposed on defense. The 2-3 zone that Boeheim loves to use just isn’t being executed by Syracuse; the Orange aren’t pinching hard enough on the wings and are giving free shooting hands to three-point-bombing marksmen. What’s alarming for Syracuse is the fact that lowly Seton Hall walked into upstate New York last week and posted 90 points against the Orange. Connecticut is struggling on offense in its own right, but the Huskies should get healthy in this contest. Take Connecticut.
Syracuse Connecticut Betting Pick: Connecticut
