Syracuse Orange vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons Prediction, 2/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Syracuse Orange vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024

Location: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC

TV: ESPN

The Syracuse Orange (14-7) are headed to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday where they will compete against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (13-7).

The Syracuse Orange faced off with Boston College and ended up losing by a score of 80-75 in their last game. Syracuse wrapped up the contest having earned a 46.9% FG percentage (30 out of 64) and buried 8 of their 23 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Orange buried 7 of their 14 tries for a rate of 50.0%. Regarding pulling down boards, they collected 27 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 17 assists in this matchup in addition to creating 21 turnovers and having 12 steals. With respect to the defense, Syracuse let their opponent shoot 60.0% from the floor on 30 of 50 shooting. Boston College recorded 16 dimes and had 2 steals in the game. Moreover, Boston College grabbed 34 rebounds (6 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't have a block. Boston College went 58.8% from the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of their 17 attempts. They made 10 out of their 20 tries from three-point range. When discussing fouls, the Orange ended up with 19 and Boston College racked up 15 fouls.

Quadir Copeland is one guy who was a factor in the matchup. He accumulated 9 points on 3 of 7 shooting. He was on the court for 28 mins and pulled down 7 rebounds. He finished the game at 42.9% from the floor and also dished out 7 assists.

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Syracuse heads into this matchup with a win-loss record of 14-7 on the year. They have an average of 75.4 points per outing (157th in the nation) while connecting on 44.4% from the floor. The Orange are shooting 32.7% on three-point shots (144 of 441) and 71.6% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Syracuse is snagging 36.7 boards per game and has accounted for 290 assists on the year, which ranks 151st in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 12.2 times per game and as a team they are committing 15.4 fouls per game.

Defensively, the Orange have forced 14.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.1 personal fouls. They are ranked 249th in college hoops in allowing assists with 287 surrendered for the season. The Orange defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.2% (568 of 1,314) and they surrender 38.6 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 31.1% on 3-point attempts and they are 202nd in D-1 in PPG allowed (72.4).

The last time they took the court, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-72 when they played Pittsburgh. In regard to cleaning the glass, Wake Forest allowed Pittsburgh to get 26 in total (7 on the offensive glass). They shot 42.1% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 8 out of 19 and ended up going 17 out of 21 at the free throw line (81.0%). The Demon Deacons permitted Pittsburgh to convert 26 out of 57 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 45.6% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Demon Deacons ended up shooting 28 out of 60 from the field which had them shooting 46.7%. When talking about shots from distance, Wake Forest knocked down 6 out of 22 tries (27.3%). They were able to convert 10 of those for a rate of 83.3%. Pittsburgh committed 14 fouls in the matchup which took the Demon Deacons to the charity stripe for a total of 12 attempts. They turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 4 steals in the game. The Demon Deacons were able to collect 23 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the matchup.

Hunter Sallis ended up having an impact for the Demon Deacons in the game. He earned 22 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and had 3 dimes in the matchup. He converted 9 of 20 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 45.0%, and had 6 rebounds.

Wake Forest has a win-loss mark of 13-7 for the year. The Demon Deacons have committed 15.8 personal fouls per contest and they hit 79.9% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 12.2 times per game (277th in college basketball) and they turn it over 11.4 times per contest. Wake Forest has tallied 1,596 points on the year (79.8 per contest) and they pull in 34.9 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Demon Deacons are hitting on 47.1% from the field, which is ranked 64th in the country.

The Demon Deacons on defense are ranked 152nd in college basketball in points allowed per game with 71.0. They are able to force 11.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.2% from the field (173rd in D-1). The Wake Forest defense allows 33.4% on 3-point shots (121 of 362) and their opponents are knocking down 74.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 10.0 dimes and 33.3 boards per game, which ranks them 12th and 94th in college basketball.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Syracuse

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