Bears vs. Orange Prediction
The eighth-seeded Syracuse Orange will be without a key player due to suspension tonight when they face the ninth-seeded Baylor Bears. Can Syracuse take care of business despite being shorthanded?
Game Snapshot
787 Baylor Bears vs. 788 Syracuse Orange
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Vivint Smart Home Arena at 9:57PM ET
TV: TRUTV
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Orange are a 1.5-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 130 points. As of Thursday morning, 60 percent of public bets are siding with Syracuse. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest information.
Bears drop fourth straight
Baylor dropped an 83-66 decision against Iowa State Thursday in the Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinals. The Bears trailed 38-29 at halftime and were unable to recover. Baylor (19-13) shot 25-of-58 from the field, 9-of-25 from 3-point distance plus 7-of-10 at the free throw line. Mario Kegler paced the Bears with 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting including 3-of-8 from 3-point distance plus 3-of-5 at the charity stripe. He also notched seven rebounds and two assists. Makai Mason had 14 points, five assists and two rebounds. Devonte Bandoo had 11 points and two boards off the bench. Mark Vital added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Syracuse suspends Howard
Syracuse has announced the suspension of senior guard Frank Howard (8.9 ppg) for tonight’s game due to a violation of team policy. He is coming off a 28-point performance in an 84-72 loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Howard shot 11-of-20 from the floor in that contest including 4-of-9 from 3-point range plus 2-of-2 at the free throw line. He also notched three assists, two rebounds and two steals. Buddy Boeheim added 15 points and two boards. Oshae Brissett had 14 points and seven caroms. Syracuse trailed 34-28 at halftime and was unable to bounce back after the break. The Orange shot 25-of-52 from the field, 9-of-21 from 3-point range plus 13-of-22 from the free throw line. Point guard Tyus Battle (hip) is expected to play after missing the ACC Tournament.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Baylor
The Bears are 4-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games. Baylor is 1-8-2 ATS in its last 11 games overall.
Syracuse
The Orange are 4-0 ATS in their last four NCAA Tournament games. Syracuse is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games versus the Big 12 Conference.
Prediction:
Syracuse has lost five of its last seven games but the caveat is that it has two losses versus Duke, one against North Carolina and one versus Virginia in that time. The other loss was on the road at a Clemson squad that felt it was an NCAA Tournament snub. Those games should have the Orange battle-tested, while they have a strong recent history as an NCAA Tournament sleeper. Even without Howard, Syracuse has enough firepower in the backcourt to get the job done against a slumping Bears squad that only has one big win since the start of February.
NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: SYRACUSE ORANGE -1.5