The Syracuse Orange (16-8) and Virginia Cavaliers (17-6) meet in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal game Thursday afternoon with a noon ET tip-off in Greensboro, N.C. Below, we analyze the Syracuse-Virginia odds and lines, with NCAA college basketball picks and predictions.
Virginia is No. 15 in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports. The Cavaliers had byes in the first two rounds of the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Syracuse is the No. 8 seed.
Syracuse vs. Virginia: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:25 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Syracuse +185 (bet $100 to win $185) | Virginia -225 (bet $225 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Syracuse +5.5 (-115) | Virginia -5.5 (-105)
- Over/Under: 131.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Syracuse vs. Virginia: Three things to know
- Syracuse advanced to Thursday’s bracket play by defeating NC State 89-68 Wednesday afternoon. The Orange outshot the Wolfpack 56.7% to 36.2% from the field and SU poured it on from distance, knocking down 14 of 29 attempts (48.3%) to claim its third straight win. Junior G Buddy Boheim led the Orange with 27 points.
- Virginia last played Saturday and picked up a 68-58 win at Louisville. The Cavaliers have won back-to-back games after losing three in a row to close February. UVA earned its No. 1 seed by virtue of a 13-4 conference record; that record included an 81-58 win over Syracuse Jan. 25.
- UVA is 11th in the nation in turnover avoidance when measured as a percentage of possessions. For the low-tempo Wahoos, that amounts to just 9.3 miscues per contest. Virginia has committed just 19 combined turnovers over its last three games.
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Syracuse vs. Virginia: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Virginia 68, Syracuse 62
Money line (ML)
STEAR CLEAR of the well-bracketed ML action for this one.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The favorite is 4-1 ATS over the last five meetings between SU and UVA.
BACK THE CAVALIERS -5.5 (-105). Syracuse needs to force turnovers and get out in transition to get this game into one-possession territory, and Virginia figures as a disciplined, strong defensive rebounding five which can leverage its rest and take this one by 6-plus.
Peg the lean here as a small one, though: a 4.5-point tag would make for decent value.
Over/Under (O/U)
A 130-to-133-point game fits the fat part of the bell curve in predicting a game flow. Don’t expect a ton of free throws, and don’t be surprised if SU’s distance game turned into a pumpkin at midnight last night.
The UNDER 131.5 (-110) is the lean, but just barely.
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