Free NCAA Hoops Pick: Orange vs. Cougars CBB Odds
Looking for Syracuse Orange vs. Houston Cougars NCAA basketball free picks & CBB odds? CBB betting sees the Orange taking on the Cougars on Saturday, March 27th, 2021 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all college basketball matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily basketball predictions like this Orange Cougars matchup.
2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament
(17-9) #11 Syracuse Orange vs. #3 Houston Cougars (19-9)
Date: Saturday, March 27th
Time: 9:40 PM ET
Venue: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
CBB Moneyline Odds: Houston -275 | Syracuse +220
CBB Betting Odds: Houston -6
CBB Betting Total: 140
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The NCAA Tournament continues Saturday as the #11 Syracuse Orange hope to pull off another upset, this time over the #2 Houston Cougars. The Midwest Region has seen the most chaos by far as the 4 remaining seeds left are #2, #8, #11, and #12.
Houston almost fell victim last round but were narrowly able to escape 63-60 over #10 Rutgers thanks to a 14-2 run by the Cougars to end the game. Future 1st round selection Quentin Grimes led the team with game highs in points (22) and rebounds (9).
Syracuse leaned on their hot shooting and defense to once again pull off an upset. This time beating #3 West Virginia 75-72 behind Jim Boeheim’s own son Buddy scoring 25 points on 6-13 shooting from deep.
The winner will advance to the Elite Eight to take on either #Loyola Chicago or #12 Oregon State, with an eye on the Final Four.
Syracuse Orange
Syracuse smoked No. 6-seed San Diego State 78-62 in the round of 64 thanks to the teams hot shooting and defensive smothering presence. Orange SG Buddy Boeheim, son of coach Jim, dropped a 30 piece by hitting 73.3% of his shots, including seven 3-pointers. The team shot 55.6% from deep overall knocking down 15 shots on 27 attempts.
In the second round Syracuse continued their cinderella run with a wire to wire 75-72 victory over Bob Huggins and #3 West Virgina. Buddy Boeheim and the Orange continued their hot shooting as he dropped 25 points going 6-13 from 3PT range and the team shot 45.2% from deep making 14 of their 31 attempts. Boeheim is averaging 24.2 points per game over his last nine.
‘Cuse legendary head coach Jim Boeheim’s famed 2-3 zone defense locked up the Aztecs and gave the Mountaineers struggles as both teams combined to shoot only 36.5% in both games.
Houston Cougars
Houston is lucky to be here after narrowly falling victim to another Midwest Region upset. They ended the game on a 14-2 run to storm back and defeat Rutgers in the closing seconds 63-60. The defense was able to hold Rutgers to just 2 points in the final 5 minutes of the game.
For as intimidating as their offense may be, it’s actually the defense that has been the Cougars’ calling card this season. Houston is 2nd in the country allowing 57.6 points per game and holding opponents to the nation’s worst FG percentage (37%).
Quentin Grimes is leading Houston with 18.1 points per game to go along with 6 rebounds. DeJon Jarreau has a great statline across the board averaging 10.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists (team best), and 1.3 steals (team best).
CBB Betting Trends:
- Orange are 6-0 ATS last 6 overall
- Orange are 10-2 ATS last 112 NCAA tournament games
- Orange are 6-0 ATS in their last 5 NCAA Tournament games as an underdog
- Over is 11-1 in Orange last 12 neutral site games
- Cougars are 9-0 SU in last 9 games
- Cougars are 6-2 ATS last 8 games
- Cougars UNDERS are 19-7-1 in last 27 tournament games
Free Syracuse Orange vs. Houston Cougars NCAAB Prediction:
This Syracuse team is dangerous. They are shooting the ball out of their minds right now starting with Buddy Boeheim who is averaging 27.5 points per game through the first two games. But it isn’t just about the ridiculous 3-point shooting that recently buried San Diego State and West Virginia, the Orange can also play defense.
Over its two tourney wins, Syracuse outshot their opponents 53.5% to 36.5% thanks to their swarming 2-3 defense. They can suffocate opposing teams on the defensive end of the floor by forcing turnovers and shutting down the long-distance shooting. This is not a good matchup for a Houston team that does not shoot the ball great and likes to take control thanks to their own defense.
I’m taking Syracuse to pull off another upset and advance to the Elite Eight.
4* Free CBB Betting Pick: Syracuse ML +220
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