Syracuse vs Maryland Prediction, Picks, and Odds for Today’s College Basketball Game

The Maryland Terrapins' ferocious defense has taken the nation by storm, and the Orange will be no match.

Ed Scimia - Betting Analyst at Covers.com
Ed Scimia • Betting Analyst
Dec 21, 2024 • 08:40 ET • 4 min read
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This article contains predictions for an old game!

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The Syracuse Orange will try to get their first win over a power conference opponent on Saturday as they take on the Maryland Terrapins in the Gotham Classic at the Barclays Center in New York City. 

The Terrapins have been playing like an elite tournament team in the early season and I’m taking them to cover in my Syracuse vs. Maryland predictions.

Let’s dig into my full analysis of this matchup in my free college basketball predictions for Saturday, December 21.

Syracuse vs Maryland prediction

My best bet
Maryland -12.5 (-110 at bet365)

My analysis
The national media may not realize it yet, but the Terrapins have established themselves as a threat to go deep in the NCAA Tournament this season. In particular, Maryland has proven it's an elite defensive unit. 

While the Terrapins like to play fast, they do a number on opposing players, holding them to just 38.7% shooting while allowing just 60.7 points per game.

As a result, Maryland is off to a 9-2 start. What’s most impressive may be its losses: The Terrapins have taken defeats to the Purdue Boilermakers and Marquette Golden Eagles by a combined nine points. On the other hand, they’ve been blowing out lesser opponents, leading the nation in scoring margin as they outscore the opposition by a massive 27.1 ppg.

It would be one thing if Maryland’s success was only about defense, but the Terrapins have also been a strong offensive force as well. All five of their starters are averaging at least 11 ppg, led by center Derik Queen, who is putting up 17.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, the Orange are struggling to perform against better teams. While they’ve sometimes played well, Syracuse has lost all five of its games against major conference opponents, and it hasn’t looked dominant against weaker opposition, either.

The Orange needed overtime to beat the Youngstown State Penguins, took down the Colgate Raiders by just two points, and only beat the Le Moyne Dolphins by four at home.

There are many questions about Syracuse, particularly regarding defense and how the coaching staff has managed its rotation. J.J. Starling (19.8 ppg) has been a standout, but overall, the Orange lack consistent scoring options against top opponents and the presence inside to stop players like Queen from dominating in the post.

Syracuse allows opponents to shoot 45.9% from the field, which ranks outside the Top 300 in the nation — a number that would have seemed impossible to believe back in the days of Jim Boeheim and the 2-3 zone. However, Syracuse struggles to defend anywhere on the court, a problem against a Maryland offense shooting 50.3% from the field.

Cuse will have something of a home-court advantage in New York City, where it's often seen as one of the “local” college teams despite being located hours northwest of the Barclays Center.

However, that won’t be enough to overcome the massive gulf between these teams. Maryland should score a dominant marquee win as it builds its resume and gets more consideration as a Top 25 team.

Syracuse vs Maryland same-game parlay

Maryland 12.5

Under 155.5

While Syracuse is a poor defensive team, it has played to the Under in three of its last five games, coming in at lower totals than this one. 

The Terrapins, on the other hand, are an elite defensive unit. While they've been hitting the Over on lower totals, they also have come in Under the total for this game in four of their last seven contests and shouldn’t have much trouble containing a mediocre Orange offensive attack.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Cash your ML bets quicker with bet365's early win payout

Take advantage of the early win payout at bet365, where any pre-game CBB moneyline bet gets paid out as a winner if your school goes up by 18+ points!

Learn more about this feature, and all of bet365's offerings, with our comprehensive bet365 review.

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Syracuse vs Maryland odds

Syracuse vs Maryland live odds

Syracuse vs Maryland opening odds

  • Spread: Syracuse +13 | Maryland -13
  • Moneyline: Syracuse +750 | Maryland -1200
  • Over/Under: Over 156 | Under 156

Odds courtesy of bet365

Syracuse vs Maryland betting trend to know

Maryland is 3-0 ATS in its last three games as a favorite. Find more college basketball betting trends for Syracuse vs. Maryland.

How to watch Syracuse vs Maryland

Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Date: Saturday, 12-21-2024
Tip-off: 12:00 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN

Syracuse vs Maryland key injuries

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Ed Scimia - Covers.com
Betting Analyst

Ed Scimia has been writing about the gaming industry for over 15 years. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in Magazine Journalism and Political Science in 2003, and has covered major gambling events like the World Series of Poker in his career. Since joining Covers in 2022, Ed has offered his sports betting analysis primarily on MLB, NFL, college football, and college basketball games, but is willing to take on any sport.

His betting strategy focuses more on finding line value based on deviations from the market rather than traditional handicapping, primarily shopping between DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics in his home state of Connecticut, though he’s not afraid to do deep game analysis to find profitable bets at any book.

Outside of gambling, Ed is an avid curler who competes in mixed doubles on the World Curling Tour and runs a popular curling YouTube channel, Chess on Ice. That experience has come in handy during the Olympics, when he has proven to be a successful curling bettor as well. 

Ed's advice to new bettors is to always open multiple sportsbook accounts and check the odds at each before placing any bet. Successful sports betting is about consistently beating the closing line value, which requires finding spots where one book is offering odds far better than the rest of the market and jumping on those opportunities.

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