College Basketball Betting: Orange Look To Roll Through Notre Dame

There are journalists and members of the media that are questioning whether the No. 1 Syracuse Orange should be labeled as the team to beat this year in the NCAA. After all, the Orange have started 20-0 for the first time in their history, and that is in the wake of all of the things that the program has been forced to deal with over the past few months both on and off of the court. There should be no doubt that head coach Jim Boeheim’s team are the frontrunners this season, and Syracuse will look to add to its case this Saturday as Betonline favorites against another Big East rival in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

(1) Syracuse Orange @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Saturday January 21, 2011 – 6:00 PM ET

Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana

College Basketball Betting Line: Syracuse Orange – 7.5

After winning three of their first four games against conference opponents, including victories over ranked opponents in Pittsburgh and at Louisville in double-overtime, the Irish haven’t shown much fight in consecutive losses. It won’t get any easier for them with the Orange in town, although they have performed well at the Joyce Center.

College Basketball Betting Preview: Syracuse

Even more impressive than the fact that Syracuse is still undefeated is the way that they have gotten there. The Orange have won all but one of their games this season by at least eight points, and the way in which they have dominated and controlled the tempo of those sports betting contests makes them that much more imposing. Senior Kris Joseph leads the nation’s 15th-ranked scoring offense with 13.7 points per game, one of seven players averaging at least seven points, which is no surprise considering Syracuse ranks 10th in the nation in average assists with 17.3.

College Basketball Betting Preview: Notre Dame

The biggest reason for Notre Dame’s recent slide has been their inability to execute on offense, putting up totals of 53 and 58 in consecutive losses to Connecticut and Rutgers. The Fighting Irish shot just 39.3-percent in the second half of their loss to the Scarlet Knights, finishing at 44.2-percent for the game, and were forced out of their zone defense to play the man-to-man on the other side of the ball after giving up 5-of-8 three-point shots in the first half. It won’t get any easier for Notre Dame against the undefeated Orange, especially if they can’t find a way to block lanes and contest shots.

College Basketball Betting Preview: Outlook & Pick

Considering that the Fighting Irish are in a funk and the Orange keep blowing away opponents, it looks like Syracuse will be able to cover the pay head bookies’ spread in this contest. Joseph and company are looking more and more confident with every passing game, and after setting a school record with their 20th win, the Orange are focused on extending their run with one win at a time.

College Basketball Betting Pick: Syracuse Orange – 7.5

NCAA Basketball Odds: Connecticut vs. Cincinnati Betting

The 17th-ranked Huskies are off to a 13-3 start but they have shown some chinks in the armor with a neutral court loss to UCF and a road loss at Seton Hall.

And while we don’t think the Bearcats have enough to spring the outright road upset, we do feel there could be a scare in Storrs tonight for the homestanding Huskies.

The Bearcats were bounced by UConn from last season’s Big East tourney and are 5-1 ATS with revenge in this series when the Huskies arrive off a SU win.

And we figure that Calhoun’s clan will be out for blood in South Bend on Saturday when they attempt to stop a three-game losing streak to the Irish.

That may very well fi nd the hosts a bit lackadaisical early tonight in Gampel Pavilion.

Nonetheless, the Huskies’ 4-11 ATS log as chalk versus avenging conference foes assures this one will be nip-and-tuck all night. A solid Big East take.

Current line: Connecticut -6½ against Cincinnati at Bovada sportsbook.

College Basketball Betting: La Salle vs. Temple Free Pick

A ‘Philly Five’ matchup takes place tonight in the Liacouras Center and with this betting game priced like a real road game for neighboring La Salle, we have no choice but to do some ‘Exploring’ with John Giannini’s group.

At press time, La Salle (13-4, 2-0) sits atop the Atlantic 10 and has triple-revenge on its mind from last season, with the three losses suffered to the Owls being the primary reason that the Explorers finished under .500 (15-18) in 2010-2011.

Giannini and company are already 3-0 ATS with revenge this year entering Saturday’s fray with Dayton and their 18-6 ATS mark as conference road dogs with revenge suggests the price is right for some more payback.

With Temple looking to make amends of its own on Saturday against Richmond (the Spiders sent the Owls packing from last season’s A-10 Tourney), it’s more than an observation that Fran Dunphy’s group will fall to 1-5 ATS after Spider revengers.

Points are optional as the Explorers discover their fi rst win in this series since the 2008 campaign.

Temple is the favorite at Bovada sportsbook, the current line is temple -4½.

Free Pick: La Salle over Temple by 1