Georgetown vs. Syracuse Odds, Picks: Saturday Betting Preview (Dec. 10)

Georgetown vs. Syracuse Odds

Saturday, Dec. 10

1 p.m. ET

ABC

Georgetown Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
+8 -115	145 -110o / -110u	+310

Syracuse Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
-8 -105	145 -110o / -110u	-380

Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute college basketball odds here.

Syracuse and Georgetown will renew their historic rivalry on Saturday afternoon. The Orange and Hoyas are both in the midst of down seasons for their programs’ relative standards.

Syracuse will be looking for revenge after it blew a double-digit halftime lead last season against the Hoyas in Washington. The Orange are fresh off consecutive wins at Notre Dame and at home against Oakland to get back above .500 for the season (5-4). Georgetown is also hovering at .500 after beating Siena by seven at home on Wednesday.

There’s not really anywhere to go but up for Patrick Ewing’s Hoyas after they failed to win a single game in the Big East last season. This rivalry tends to bring about close games and the Orange’s defense isn’t getting enough stops to warrant a near double-digit spread.

Georgetown Hoyas

Georgetown has a lot more talent than it did last season, but that hasn’t really led to better results on the court. The Hoyas top scoring option is Primo Spears, a sophomore averaging 16.6 points and 4.6 assists a game. Ewing brought Spears in from Duquesne and he’s provided excellent point guard play for the Hoyas.

The questions for this offense will come against the Orange’s 2-3 zone. Most offenses that succeed against the zone move the ball really well and can shoot it from the outside. Neither of those really describe the Hoyas offense, which is bottom 50 nationally in assist rate and three-point attempt rate.

Georgetown has been able to cut down on the turnovers this season and that’s a major key in keeping the Orange out of transition. Syracuse’s offense grades out much better in transition than it does in the halfcourt.

Syracuse Orange

Syracuse’s offensive profile looks a lot different this season than it has in years past. The Orange are shooting way fewer threes and aren’t nearly as elite from beyond the arc since the departures of Buddy Boeheim, Jimmy Boeheim and Cole Swider after last season.

Despite having a down season, the Orange were one of the most prolific and efficient offenses in the country last year. They’re not nearly as efficient this season and lack a true go-to scorer. Joseph Girard was supposed to be that player, but his efficiency numbers are way down and he’s struggled to adjust to a more off-the-ball role in this offense.

Outside of Girard, the offense is reliant on inexperienced players. The Orange are going deeper into their bench then ever under Jim Boeheim, and four freshmen are playing significant minutes in the rotation. Judah Mintz has been one of Syracuse's bright spots.

Mintz has shown flashes of excellent point guard play, but hasn’t been a consistently efficient scorer. He averaged 18 points per game in his first five contests of the season, but has managed just nine points per game in the past four, as the competition has increased.

Jesse Edwards is the Orange’s center and is relied upon for additional inside scoring. The Orange rank 14th in the country in percentage of points from inside the arc and also are top-20 defensively in block rate.

Edwards has a tough matchup in this game against Akok Akok and Qudus Wahab on the interior. The Hoyas don’t have good team defense, but are solid on the interior.

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Georgetown vs. Syracuse Betting Pick

There have been seven meetings between Syracuse and Georgetown since the Orange left the Big East after the 2012 season. Five of the seven have been decided by single digits and the Orange have failed to cover in the past three meetings.

The Hoyas don’t have the profile of a great offense against zone defenses, but can make up for a lack of efficiency with their offensive rebounding edge. The Orange are a bad defensive rebounding team and the Hoyas are a well-above-average offensive rebounding team.

Georgetown also has the shot blockers to alter the Orange’s attempts of getting to the rim. Akok and Wahab should prevent Syracuse from getting easy points. Previous Syracuse teams could shoot over the Hoyas mediocre defense on the perimeter. Georgetown concedes a ton of threes, but this Syracuse team isn’t as equipped to exploit that.

Pick: Georgetown +9 or Better

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