One of the better matchups in Tuesday night’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge pits the Indiana Hoosiers against the No. 4 Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m. (ET), and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Indiana is off to a 6-1 straight up start with its only loss coming to then-No. 18 Connecticut 59-58 in the 2K Tournament title game at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 22. The Hoosiers covered as three-point underdogs to improve to 5-1 against the spread in games with a posted line. The total has gone “over” in three of their last five games.

The Orange are coming off an impressive 74-67 victory over Baylor last Wednesday to claim this season’s Maui Invitational title. They are now 7-0 SU on the year, and after covering as 4.5-point favorites against the Bears, they improved to 3-2 ATS. The total has gone over in their last two games.

Indiana at Syracuse Betting Storylines

Indiana is on the verge a cracking the AP’s Top 25, and a win on Tuesday night would send it surging in the rankings. This is a solid team on both sides of the court with an offense that is averaging 86.4 points a game complementing a defensive effort that has held teams to 75 points or less in six of seven games. The Hoosiers are ranked first in the nation in rebounds with 50.3 per game.

Yogi Ferrell is the team’s leading scorer with 18.1 points a game, and he also leads in assists with 3.9. Noah Vonieh has been a force under the boards with 10.4 rebounds while chipping in another 12.9 points. Troy Williams is another versatile player with 9.9 points and six rebounds a game. The only area where the Hoosiers have struggled is from beyond the arc as they are connecting on just 28 percent of their 107 attempts.

Syracuse has climbed all the way to No. 4 in the rankings on the strength of a couple of early quality wins. In last week’s victory over Baylor, the Orange opened up an eight-point lead at the half and never looked back. CJ Fair led the team with 24 points, and Trevor Cooney and Tyler Ennis each added another 11 points to the winning effort.

Fair is averaging 18.0 points a game, and he is second in rebounds with 5.9 a game. Cooney is averaging 14.3 points and proving to be a threat from long range with a shooting percentage of 45.7 from three-point range. The Orange are averaging 76.7 points a game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field. They have had issues at times under the boards with an average of just 36.1 rebounds a game.

Indiana at Syracuse College Basketball Betting Tends and Game Lines

BetOnline has opened Syracuse as a 5.5 -point home favorite for this ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge, with the total still listed as “off”.

The Hoosiers are 4-1 both SU and ATS in their last five road games, and the total has gone over in four of those five games.

The Orange are 7-4 ATS in their last 11 nonconference games, and the total has stayed “under” in seven of their last 10 games overall.

These two met last season in the Sweet 16, with Syracuse pulling off the 61-50 upset as a five-point underdog. The total stayed under the 135.5-point line.

Free College Basketball Picks: Indiana at Syracuse Betting Predictions

Indiana has a couple of things going for it in this matchup with a significant edge under the boards and a high motivation for revenge at the top of the list. Look for Syracuse to suffer a bit of jet lag after a solid run in Hawaii last week that opens the door for the Hoosiers to, at the very least, cover with the points.

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