Syracuse Orange vs. Houston Cougars Betting Preview
The Midwest region gets back to work on Saturday as four teams fight to make it to the Elite Eight. One matchup in the region features the No. 11 Syracuse Orange (18-9) going up against the No. 2 Houston Cougars (26-3). The game will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse, with tipoff scheduled for 9:55 pm ET.
For Syracuse, they pulled off back-to-back upsets in the first weekend by beating No. 6 San Diego St. (78-62) and No. 3 West Virginia (75-72). They will have another tough matchup Saturday as they face off with a very solid Houston Cougars team.
Speaking of Houston, they are coming off of a gutsy 63-60 come-from-behind win against Rutgers last Sunday. Prior to that, they had won with relative ease in the first round against Cleveland St., 87-56.
The Houston Cougars are the favorites in this one. They are -275 to win, while Orange’s moneyline sits at +225. The spread features Syracuse +6.5 while the over/under for total points is 140.
By The Numbers
Offensively, both of these teams are solid. Houston ranks 48th in scoring in the nation averaging 76.2 points per game. Syracuse ranks 54th, averaging 75.9 points per game.
Both of these teams can be especially deadly from behind the arc. Houston ranks 37th, averaging nine threes per game, while Syracuse ranks 56th averaging 8.6. The Orange were really solid in the first weekend of the tournament, hitting a combined 29 threes in two games.
Defensively, Houston is one of the best in the country. In fact, they rank 2nd overall in scoring defense, allowing 58.3 points per game to opponents. Syracuse ranks 170th allowing 70.4 points per game.
Syracuse Tries To Keep Upset Streak Alive
Syracuse has really been playing well as of late. Not only did they win in upset fashion in the first two games of this tournament, but they gave the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers everything they could handle in the ACC tournament, losing by three. They will look to continue their solid play and add another upset over the Cougars.
Leading the way for Syracuse is guard Buddy Boeheim. On the season, he has averaged 18 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. In the win over West Virginia, Boeheim scored 25 points to lead the way for the Orange.
Syracuse has three others averaging double digits in Quincy Guerrier (13.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks), Alan Griffin (13.7 points, six rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.7 blocks), and Marek Dolezaj (10 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.2 steals).
Houston Fighting Through Injuries
One of the most impressive aspects of the Cougars’ win over Rutgers was the gritty performance by Dejon Jarreau. Playing through a hip pointer, it was obvious to see he was in pain throughout. Head coach Kelvin Sampson has said that Jarreau has been held out of practice most of the week and might only be 70-75% at game time.
Last week, Jarreau scored 17 points with five rebounds. On the season, he is averaging 10.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 steals.
The two leading scorers for Houston are guards Quentin Grimes (18.1 points, six rebounds, 1.3 steals) and Marcus Sasser (13.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals). Grimes led the way against Rutgers with 22 points, but Sasser only scored four.
Taking Syracuse And The Points
If Syracuse can shoot the way they did last weekend, they can run with just about anyone in this tournament. While that is not a foregone conclusion, they certainly have a lot of confidence coming into this weekend.
It also cannot be overstated how important Jarreau is to the Cougars. His injury could loom large. He showed last weekend that you won’t be able to keep him off the floor, but it will be interesting to see how productive he is.
When healthy, the Cougars would be the clear choice in this one, but as it stands, I will take the points with Syracuse at +6.5.
