St John’s Red Storm vs. Syracuse Orange Predictions, Picks, Odds and NCAA Basketball Betting Preview – December 21, 2016

St John’s Red Storm vs. Syracuse Orange Preview

Where: Carrier Dome – Syracuse, New York

When: Wednesday, December 21, 7:00 PM ET

Line: St John’s Red Storm (+12.5) vs. Syracuse Orange (-12.5) – view all NCAA Basketball lines

TV Broadcast: ACC Network

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Betting on the St John’s Red Storm (+12.5)

What in the world is happening to St. John’s? The Red Storm crashed to their second consecutive defeat with a humiliating 92-76 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions on Friday night. The Red Storm simply had no answer for Shep Garner who scored 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting from deep. It was another meek display by the Red Storm who have now lost seven of their last 10 games.

The Red Storm will look to get their season back on track when they face the Syracuse Orange later tonight. For St. John’s to record a major shock, it needs to step up its play on the defensive end. The Red Storm are 193rd in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering a whopping 72.4 points per game this season. They are in for a long night against a Syracuse side that is 7-1 at home this season. Chris Mullin’s men will need to watch out for Andrew White III who has scored in double figures in all of Syracuse’s games this campaign.

That being said, the Red Storm will fancy their chances against the Orange as they have fared extremely well against them of late. The Red Storm have won each of their last two meetings with the Orange. St. John’s defeated Syracuse, 84-72, in their last showdown at Madison Square Garden. Federico Mussini starred for the Red Storm in that contest, pouring in a team-high 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. He’s averaging 9.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game this campaign.

St. John’s is 2-3 ATS on the road this season.

Betting on the Syracuse Orange (-12.5)

The Syracuse Orange returned to winning ways on Monday with a resounding 105-57 victory over the reeling Eastern Michigan Eagles. It was a huge bounce-back win for the Orange who suffered a gut-wrenching 78-71 defeat to Georgetown in their previous game. With the victory, Syracuse improved its record this season to 7-4.

Key to the Orange’s lopsided win was their much-improved play on the offensive end. Syracuse finally got its act together against Eastern Michigan after averaging just 67.8 points in its last six games (2-4 record during that span). Eight players scored in double figures for the Orange who shot 59 percent from the field. The Orange displayed excellent ball movement in this contest as they recorded 34 assists on their 37 made baskets. They assisted on all 19 of their field goals in the first half.

For the Orange to make it back-to-back wins against St. John’s, they will need to heat up once again from the perimeter. They tied a season record with 15 made 3-point baskets in the win against Eastern Michigan. Tyus Battled, Andrew White III and John Gillon were sizzling from beyond the arc, going a combined 11-of-22 from the three-point area. They will be licking their chops at the prospect of facing a St. John’s defense that’s 250th in the nation in 3-point defense, with opponents shooting at a high 36.2 percent clip from deep.

The Orange are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against the Red Storm.

Writer’s Prediction

Syracuse wins but St. John’s covers +12.5.

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