Oakland vs. Syracuse Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, December 6 (Fade Oakland's Porous Defense)
By Peter Dewey
The Syracuse Orange are coming off a big win over Notre Dame in their last game, and they have a favorable matchup at home against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Syracuse plays at an extremely slow pace (331st in adjusted tempo) and will look to frustrate the Grizzlies with its zone defense.
Oakland, despite having a ton of talent with players such as Trey Townsend, Keaton Harvey, Rocket Watts and Jalen Moore, is off to a 2-8 start this season and is one of the worst defensive teams in the nation.
The Orange haven’t shot the ball great (248th in effective field goal percentage), but this could be a “get right” spot for their offense.
Here’s a look at the latest odds:
Oakland vs. Syracuse Odds, Spread and Total
Oakland vs. Syracuse Prediction and Pick
This is a lot of points to lay with a Syracuse team that is just 4-4 on the season, but I’m going to do it here because I don’t trust the Golden Grizzlies to show up on the defensive end.
Oakland has allowed 80 or more points six times this season, and the team hasn’t allowed less than 76 points in a game since its season opener. The result? A 2-8 record and the No. 358 adjusted defensive efficiency in the country.
While the Orange haven’t shot the ball well this season, Oakland is allowing opponents to shoot an effective field goal percentage of 56.9% this season, good for 342nd in the country.
Guards Joe Girard and Judah Mintz should have a field day for the Orange in this game, and I expect Syracuse to slow down Oakland’s strong offensive attack with its zone.
The Golden Grizzlies are just 220th in the country in 3-point percentage this season, and that’s simply not going to hold up when Syracuse forces them into long-range shots all game long.
I’ll the points with the Orange at home.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.