The No. 2 Syracuse Orange are still undefeated through 13 regular-season games and six ACC Conference matchups. The team has been utterly dominant behind the play of forward C.J. Fair, but the oddsmakers have been slow to back the stellar play of Syracuse in the national title futures odds. Despite its No.2 ranking, the Orange are only receiving the fourth-best title odds and still trails Kansas, Arizona, Michigan St. and Kentucky in the eyes of many oddsmakers. Now may be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the odds and place a well-timed bet on the Orange.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are in the middle of a tough, and maybe disappointing, season. The squad has already lost three conference games through its first seven tries and will face Syracuse and the No 17 Duke Blue Devils in the next week. Wake Forest might have a below-.500 conference record by the first week of February and could be putting its tournament hopes on the line if the team doesn’t get a big win soon. Let’s take a closer look at Wednesday’s matchup with predictions and analysis.

Syracuse at Wake Forest Betting Story Lines

Syracuse is still undefeated with a perfect 19-0 record and is coming off a 12-point win against the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday. The team played an excellent game defensively and prevented Miami from scoring a field goal for 7 ½ minutes during the final stretch of the matchup. Syracuse plays a lock-down zone defense that makes scoring against the squad extremely difficult.

The Orange are one win away from tying a school record for most wins to start a season at 20 games, which was set two years ago. The team has also been solid ATS wise and has a 10-4-1 record while covering six of its last seven spreads. Syracuse averages 72.2 points per game, with four double-digit scorers, but relies on its smothering defense to get its wins. The squad hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 59 points in its last seven games.

Wake Forest has three double-digit scorers on its squad and is being led by the 15.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and four assists of sophomore Codi Miller-McIntyre. The squad is coming into Wednesday’s matchup with three straight wins and beat Notre Dame by seven points in its last outing. Forward Devin Thomas scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Demon Deacons during the win to help the team remain undefeated at home.

Syracuse at Wake Forest NCAA Odds and Key Trends

Syracuse opened as an 8.5-point favorite over the underdog Demon Deacons at BetOnline. Syracuse is 4-0-1 ATS in its last five games following a SU win and 4-0-1 ATS in its last five overall games. The squad is 6-1-1 ATS during its last eight games following an ATS win and 6-1 ATS over its last seven road games. Syracuse has also won 16 of its last 23 Wednesday games.

Wake Forest is 1-4 ATS in its last five Wednesday games and in its last five following a SU win. The team has won 15 of its last 21 home games and has gone “under” in six of its last seven matchups following an ATS win.

Free College Basketball Picks: Syracuse at Wake Forest Predictions

Syracuse has been a monster both SU and ATS wise, and the team’s defense should be enough to cover an 8.5-point road spread. The Orange have consistently kept their opponents in the 50-point range and would only need to score near its average of over 72 points to easily cover the spread. There is not much to think about in this matchup; all the value is on the No. 2 team in the nation. Take Syracuse to cover the spread.

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Read more articles by George Monroy