Notre Dame vs Syracuse Odds, Pick & Prediction

Below, we have Notre Dame vs. Syracuse odds, pick & prediction.

Notre Dame heads east to take on Syracuse on a day where the Orange are honoring the legendary Jim Boeheim.

These two schools had plenty of battles back in the day in the old Big East, and both made the transition together to the ACC in 2013.

For the last 20 years, the Irish and Orange squaring off has meant a chess match between Mike Brey and Boeheim.

Both ended their runs at their respective schools after last season, and now it's time for Micah Shrewsberry and Red Autry to take center stage.

Shrewsberry was left with a pretty barren cupboard in his first season in South Bend.

The Irish graduated all five seniors from last year’s starting lineup, and then lost their two most talented returning pieces to the transfer portal in JJ Starling and Ven-Allen Lubin.

Starling is ironically now starting in the backcourt for the Orange, so this will be a reunion of sorts for the sophomore.

Despite the roster challenges, Shrewsberry has impressed me in his first year.

The record may not indicate it, but this Notre Dame team plays really hard, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.

There's a talent gap compared to the rest of the league, but the Irish have still found a way to win five league games and have been competitive in plenty of others.

To get ACC victory number six, Notre Dame will need to contain the explosive Cuse background of Judah Mintz and Starling.

As was to be expected, it's been an up and down first season for Autry and Syracuse.

The Orange have been clicking of recent, however, with an upset win over North Carolina last week and a road victory at NC State on Tuesday.

Mintz is one of the most dynamic guards in the ACC, and the sophomore can score it in so many different ways.

Quadir Copeland has also come on in a big way for Cuse of late, going for 25 points and eight rebounds the other night in Raleigh.

When Syracuse has been at its best this season, the Orange have guarded on the defensive end and held opponents in check.

In blowout losses to North Carolina, Duke, etc, Syracuse hasn't had the same level of focus on that end and has been exposed.

Notre Dame might be sitting at 5-10 in the conference, but the Irish have covered in 10 of those 15 games.

I think that trend continues on Saturday.

Shrewsberry’s team continues to compete at a high level, and it's actually one of the better defensive teams in the ACC.

The Irish are a bit offensively challenged, but facing a Syracuse team that's pretty mediocre defensively, I think ND can score it enough to hang inside the number in this one.

Give me the Irish catching 8.5 on the road in a game that'll be closer than people estimate.

Pick: Notre Dame +8.5