Virginia Cavaliers vs. Syracuse Orange: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 1/30/2023

by Chuck Sommers

Monday, Jan 30, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
Where to watch: ESPN

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks


DraftKings: Virginia -5
FanDuel: Virginia -4.5
BetMGM: Virginia -4.5
Caesars: Virginia -5

Season record
No. 7 Virginia: 16-3 (8-2 ACC) 
Syracuse: 13-9 (6-5 ACC)

We’re nearing the halfway mark of the college basketball season and it’s been quite the ride so far. Will Rogers is going hard in the last 30 days with a 16-10-1 run, while Kyle Hunter has also had a strong run of form as of late at 28-24-0 (+$1,700). If they’ve been killing it as much as they were in the first half, what does the second half have in store? The only way you’re going to find out is by staying locked on bigal.com and following what our champion handicappers are up to heading into the second half. Trust us, you want to know.

Virginia - Syracuse preview, prediction and analysis


The Virginia Cavaliers will try to extend their winning streak to seven games when they visit the Syracuse Orange on Monday inside the Carrier Dome. 

Virginia, currently sitting No. 2 in the ACC, is coming off a 76-57 win against the Boston College Eagles on Saturday, so we’re looking at the Cavaliers playing two games in two days with travel involved. Fortunately such travel doesn’t seem like it needs to be taken into account with the ACC.

Armaan Franklin and Jayden Gardner each had 18 points for the No. 7 Cavaliers, who improved to 16-3 on the year and 8-2 in ACC play, now sitting 1.5 games behind the Clemson Tigers for the top spot in the conference. Reece Beekman added 11 points and eight assists, as the Cavaliers shot 50.8 percent from the floor despite shooting just 6 of 21 from 3-point range.

But all anyone wanted to talk about after the game was the impact freshman guard Ryan Dunn had in the 15 minutes he played with an alley-oop dunk and putback jam that set the tone during an 18-4 first-half run.

“I try to bring energy as much as I can,” said Dunn, who finished with six points, four rebounds and two steals. “Just being able to go out and to play with that type of intensity and passion is kind of a big thing for me.”

The Cavaliers have covered three straight and four fo the last five during this run of winning. They were 14-point favorites against BC and still haven’t lost since Jan. 3 at Pittsburgh. Keep in mind that Virginia’s losses have all come by single digits.

And that’s why you should never count out the Orange as it pertains to any game, even though they are coming into this Monday matchup having lost three of four and have dipped to 6-5 in ACC play.

The Orange are coming off an 85-70 loss at Virginia Tech after the Hokies got their revenge from the Jan. 11. Virginia Tech did just that with a 52-point first half en route to the 15-point victory. Judah Mintz led the way with 21 points, but Syracuse couldn’t do anything else considering the defense gave up 53.3 percent shooting and 13 of 32 from 3-point range.

The good news if you’re betting Syracuse, they covered three straight before this loss to the Hokies, in which they were 6.5-point underdogs. Overall, the Orange have covered in six of their last 10.

Prediction

I do worry about putting any serious money on Virginia with that short travel. I get from Virginia to New York it might not be the longest trip, but the good thing for Virginia is that defense travels. I have no doubt it’ll do that here. Virginia 75, Syracuse 65

Betting trends


Virginia is 6-10 ATS as a favorite this season.

Virginia is 3-11 ATS off a win by 15 points or more the last 3 seasons.

Projected starting lineup


Virginia:
PG: Kihei Clark
SG: Reece Blackman
SF: Armaan Franklin
PF: Jayden Gardner
C: Kadin Shedrick

Syracuse:
PG: Joseph Girard III
SG: Judah Mintz
SF: Chris Bell
PF: Benny Williams
C: Jesse Edwards

Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Virginia - Syracuse prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college basketball projections and previews.

Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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