Syracuse vs Wake Forest Odds, Picks and Predictions: Roll With the Orange in Grudge Match

The second day of the ACC Tournament tips off at noon on Wednesday with a showdown between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Syracuse Orange. This is actually a rematch of the regular season finale between both teams, with the Orange winning 72-63 at home over the weekend. 

Wake Forest is expected to win this time around with college basketball odds opening with the Deacons as 2-point favorites and the Over/Under at 154.5. Here are my best free college basketball picks and predictions for Syracuse vs. Wake Forest on March 8.

Syracuse vs Wake Forest best odds

Syracuse vs Wake Forest picks and predictions

It's always tough to beat an equally talented team twice in a row, especially with this neutral-site game likely having a home-court feel for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons since it's so close to Winston-Salem.

However, Wake Forest has struggled since losing second-leading scorer Damari Monsanto (13.3 points per game) to a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago. 

Prior to Monsanto's injury, the Deacons were 28th in the country in scoring with 77.9 ppg while ranking 21st in effective field goal percentage (55%). However, in their last three games without him, they're putting up just 66 ppg with a 49.7 EFG% despite facing subpar defensive teams during that span.

Of course one of those "subpar" defensive teams was the Syracuse Orange, but they had a strong defensive showing in that contest and their 2-3 zone matches up very well with Wake's offense. This is especially the case with the absence of Monsanto's 3-point shooting. 

The Orange do a good job of defending the pick-and-roll and cuts to the basket, ranking in the Top 50 of the country in defensive efficiency against those plays according to ShotQualityBets.

Syracuse should be able to slow down the Deacons in those areas while also having offensive success of its own. The Orange are at their best when running the floor in transition (20th in the country in offensive efficiency) and finishing at the rim (22nd).

Those are both spots where Wake Forest struggles to defend, so grab the Orange on the moneyline.

My best bet: Syracuse moneyline (+115 at bet365)

Syracuse vs Wake Forest spread analysis

Both of these teams finished the regular season with identical 10-10 records in conference play.

Wake Forest has stumbled into the conference tourney, going just 1-4 straight up and against the spread in its last five games. That said, Syracuse's win against the Deacons on Saturday snapped a four-game losing streak for the Orange, so they haven't been playing much better themselves. 

The Orange really needed that 9-point victory against Wake to lift their spirits after getting smoked by 20 points at home to a sub-.500 Georgia Tech team earlier in the week. Center Jesse Edwards carried Syracuse, scoring 27 points on 11-15 shooting while grabbing 20 boards, blocking two shots, and coming away with five steals. 

These squads have been more efficient on offense than on defense, but Wake has been a bit better in both areas. The Demon Deacons are 52nd in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency while the Orange come in at 80th. On the other end of the floor, Wake Forest is 154th in adjusted defensive efficiency while Cuse ranks 193rd. 

Wake Forest Guard Cameron Hildreth (12.1 ppg) and forward Andrew Carr (10.9 ppg) were practically invisible on Saturday against Syracuse. They'll need to step up and help ACC Player of the Year runner-up Tyree Appleby, who leads the conference with 18.8 ppg and 6.3 assists per game. 

The Orange have three players who can fill up the hoop in Joseph Girard III (16.6 ppg), Judah Mintz (16.2 ppg, 4.5 apg), and Edwards (14.5 ppg, 10.3 rebounds per game, 59.1 FG%). However, there's a big dropoff from Edwards to their fourth-leading scorer Benny Williams, who averages just 6.8 ppg.

Syracuse vs Wake Forest Over/Under analysis

These teams combined for just 135 points on Saturday, well below the O/U of 157. Both sides struggled from long range in that contest, with the Orange going 2-14 from deep and the Deacons taking an incredible 39 attempts but knocking down only 10 (26%). 

The Deacons will need to find more consistency from beyond the arc but they'll also need to do a better job of attacking the rim. However, Edwards is an exceptional interior defender that led the ACC with 2.7 blocks per game while Mintz had a conference-high 1.9 steals per game. 

Despite the ability of Edwards to protect the rim, the Orange allowed 75 ppg on 44.8% shooting in conference play. The Deacons were even worse defensively, giving up 75.7 ppg on 46.1 FG% to ACC foes.

The Deacons also like to push the pace and played at the fastest tempo in the conference while the Orange prefer to slow things down. 

Syracuse vs Wake Forest betting trend to know

The Over is 14-5-1 in Wake Forest's last 20 games overall while going 16-7 in Syracuse's previous 23 contests. Find more college basketball betting trends for Syracuse vs. Wake Forest.

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