In a battle between the Big East and the Big 12 Syracuse hooks up with Kansas State Saturday in an East Regional bout in Pittsburgh.
The top-seeded Orange staved off the upset attempt of 16th-seeded UNC-Asheville Thursday, winning 72-65, while the Wildcats got through the 8-9 game in the East by beating Southern Miss Thursday 70-64.
The game is being played at Consol Energy Center, which makes it technically a neutral site match.
The Orange currently sports a 32-2 record overall in NCAAB action, and have posted a corresponding betting slate of 16-17 ATS. The Wildcats are 22-10 and 14-14 ATS. Betting totals have seen the Orange produce a 15-18 OVER/UNDER record on the season, while the Wildcats have gone 14-13-1 against the number.
View Kansas State vs Syracuse Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
Bettors looking to back visiting Kansas State before tip-off in this one found them as 5.5-point underdogs at Sportsbook.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game matches up the No. 6 (Orange) and the No. 28 (Wildcats) teams in the league, according to our current NCAAB power rank. A 82-75 result in favor of the Orange has been projected by the scores prediction engine.
How They Match Up:
Rating these schools in several key categories is important for handicappers and Syracuse has the nation's No. 39-rated offensive output, at 74.5 PPG. The visiting Wildcats defense ranks No. 84 allowing on average 63.7 PPG. The Orange FG% has averaged 46.5% so far, more than the Wildcats marksmen have achieved on the year, 44.4% per game.
Comparing how these foes stack up statistically, Kansas State owns the country's No. 85-rated mark, allowing 66.3 points per game on the highway. Syracuse, on the other hand, rates No. 91 in scoring at home.
Last time out for Kansas State, they were a 70-64 Sportsbook as they battled Southern Miss at home. They covered in the match as a 5.5-point favorite. The Wildcats used a 30-point performance from Rodney McGruder to help Kansas State smack Southern Miss 70-64 on Thursday at Consol Energy Center.
Syracuse won its last outing, a 72-65 result against UNC Asheville on March 15. They failed to cover in that game as a 15.5-point favorite. The Orange got 15 points from James Southerland as Syracuse ran past UNC Asheville 72-65 on Thursday at Consol Energy Center.
