College Basketball Information
Syracuse won last eight games with St John's, with five of last six wins by 19+ points; Orange also played Big East tourney here every March, so this familiar site in first non-league meeting. First true away game for Syracuse, which won three games on Maui by 8-11-7 points. St John's is 2-2 vs top 100 teams, losing by 11 to Wisconsin, by 7 to Penn State.
Wright State won last three games with Miami by 8-2-15 points; they're 0-6 on road, losing last two games to teams outside top 250. Teams are making 49.1% behind arc vs Miami this year, best % vs any team in US. Miami is 1-5 but has three top 60 losses; #182 Raiders are lowest-rated team they've played this year. Horizon road favorites are 2-3 vs spread; MAC home underdogs are 6-5.
LaSalle beat Villanova 77-74 in OT LY after being down 11 in 2nd half, ending decade+-long losing series skid; Explorers lost last four visits here by 7-18-13-41 points. LaSalle is 0-3 vs top 100 teams, losing by 9-8-7 points- they're making 29.5% behind arc. 9-0 Villanova is 6-0 vs teams outside top 100, with all six wins by 15+- they're forcing turnovers 23% of time, #16 in country.
UCSB beat San Diego by 4-18 points last two years, holding Toreros to 39 points LY; Gauchos are 3-3 vs D-I teams despite having #1 eFG% in US, making 43.9% (#7) behind arc- they're 1-2 on road, winning by 21 at UNLV, losing at Colorado by 8, UCLA by 13. USD lost its two top 100 games by total of 8 points, losing to New Mexico by 7, Aztecs by 1.
Pepperdine forced 20 turnovers (+6) in 58-56 OT win vs Washington St LY, after losing by 11 to Coogs year before; Waves are 3-0 in true road games, winning by 3-17-6 points- they're 2-2 vs teams in top 150, with losses by 3-8 points to only top 100 foes. Wazzu lost four of its last six games, beating local Idaho by point in last game eight days ago, in game they trailed by 10 with 13:49 left.
Northeastern is 2-7 playing #25 schedule in US, losing last five in a row since upsetting Georgetown on neutral floor; six of Huskies' losses are by 9 or less points. Fairfield lost last eight games, losing by 4-11 in first two MAAC tilts- they're turning ball over 21.8% of time, making 41.9% inside arc. MAAC underdogs are 20-18 vs spread, 4-2 at home. CAA road favorites are 3-0.
Marist is 0-9 under new coach, with 83-74 loss at Iona only one of four road losses by less than 16 points; Red Foxes are making 25.5% on arc (11th-worst in US), 39.8% inside arc (13th-worst). Charleston won by 10 at Marist LY; this is first D-I game in two weeks for Cougars, who are 4-4 vs D-I teams, with last three wins all by 13+ points. Favorites from Southern Conference are 1-4 vs spread at home.
7-2 Manhattan is 15-5 in last 20 games dating back to LY, winning last three games while allowing 61.3 ppg; Jaspers are 5-0 on road- they force turnovers 20.3% of time. NC-Wilmington won last two games, is 4-5 vs D-I teams, despite making just 25.2% from arc (6th-worst in US)- they won three of four home games, with only home loss to SF Austin 60-55.
First game in 11 days for Morehead State, which turns ball over 24.3% of time, makes just 29.9% behind arc, but is 6-4 vs D-I teams, probably because they force TOs 22% of time. Eagles are 2-0 at home, defeating Marshall/Wright State. Falcons are 0-3 on road, but they were all top 50 opponents; BG is shooting 25.3% behind arc, 8th-worst %age in USA.
First game in 8 days for 6-2 Drexel squad that won consecutive games in triple OT couple weeks ago; Dragons won by 8 at Illinois State, by 11 at Rutgers after losing first true road game at UCLA by 5, but Lee's injury made them thinner. Davidson is 4-6 vs #32 schedule; they lost by 11 at poor Niagara team Wednesday.Wildcats have 7th-worst eFG% defense in country- teams are making 40.3% from arc against them.
Wyoming is 7-2, losing by 5 at Colorado, 15 at Ohio State in true away games; home side won Cowboys' last 11 games with Denver. Wyoming lost its last five visits here- they're making 41.4% from arc this season. Denver had terrific win at Colorado State after splitting pair of OT tilts before that. Pioneers are 1-1 at home, losing to Stanford, winning in OT over Southern.
UC-Irvine (-8) made 11-19 from arc, hammered Eastern Washington two weeks ago, 81-58 (was 43-22 at half); Anteaters lost to Cal/Pepperdine in last two games- they're 2-2 on road with win at Washington. EWU is 3-3 vs D-I teams, beating Seattle by 8 in only D-I home game; Eagles are making 39.5% from arc, just 62.9% from line. Big Sky home dogs: 1-5.
Montana State waxed Portland 83-64 LY, its only win against D-I team in 1-8 start; Bobcats were 27-39 on foul line in that game- they're 1-2 on road this year, losing by 5 at Riverside, 25 at Wyoming, with upset win at Central Michigan. Pilots are 5-1 vs teams ranked outside top 200; all five wins were by 14+- they won last three games, by 17-29-16 points.
Armadillosports.com
Syracuse at St. John's: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Syracuse Orange at St. John's Red Storm (+4)
Syracuse no longer resides in the Big East, but the Orange made a point to schedule a couple of their former rivals during their first season in the ACC. The first part of that trip down memory lane begins Sunday when the third-ranked Orange travel to Madison Square Garden to take on St. John's. The Orange are undefeated, while the Red Storm only have one regulation loss - a neutral-site defeat to No. 6 Wisconsin in their season opener.
"It's a natural annual rivalry game," St. John's coach Steve Lavin said. "It engages both Syracuse and St. John's fans. It's a matchup that's going to create national buzz as well." The Orange lead the all-time series 50-37, including a 19-point win at the Carrier Dome last season. “It’s different, but it’s still a good rivalry,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “I think it’s a good game for both teams. It’s an excellent game. That’s (what) you play in December, games that will help you. This will help both teams.”
ABOUT SYRACUSE (9-0): While the Orange have won all nine of their games - including a 28-point victory over Binghamton their last time out - they don't rank highly in any major offensive category, placing 88th in the nation in points (77.7), 170th in rebounding (36.3), 100th in assists (14.2) and 126th in field-goal percentage (45.9). Sophomore guard Trevor Cooney has been a tremendous surprise for Syracuse, averaging 15.3 points on 48.4 percent 3-point shooting to rank second on the team in scoring, behind senior forward C.J. Fair (17.8). Sophomore big man DaJuan Coleman looks to build off his season-high 13-point performance - which he complemented with a season high-tying 10 rebounds - in the win over Binghamton.
ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (6-2): The Red Storm have won back-to-back games since an overtime loss to Penn State, with JaKarr Sampson shooting 11-of-13 during the last two contests. Sampson is one of three double-digit scorers for St. John's, led by D'Angelo Harrison at 18.9 points and followed by Sampson (12.4) and Phil Greene IV (10.4). The Red Storm haven't played in eight days since setting a season high for points in a 104-58 triumph over Fordham - a game in which they made 17 straight shots at one point to surpass 100 points for the first time in almost 14 years.
TRENDS:
* Orange are 6-0 ATS in the last six meetings.
* Over is 5-0 in the last five meetings.
* Orange are 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall.
* Red Storm are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.
TIP-INS:
1. This is the 32nd straight season that Syracuse has played at least one game at Madison Square Garden. All-time, the Orange are 92-47 at "The World's Most Famous Arena."
2. St. John's F Orlando Sanchez made 8-of-10 shots en route to a team-high 19 points against Fordham after entering the game with 31 points on the season.
3. Cooney has made five 3-pointers in four of his last five games.