Syracuse vs Georgetown | Prediction & Pick

NCAA Basketball Free Pick – Saturday, February 26, 2011

vs.

Syracuse Orange (23-6) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (21-7)
Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 12:00 PM EST on CBS

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Last meeting: Georgetown won at Syracuse 64-56 earlier this month.

The Orange are looking to revenge an earlier loss when they visit Georgetown on Saturday.  Their home loss to the Hoyas earlier this month was during an ugly midseason stretch but Syracuse appears to have righted itself and has been playing better of late, most recently upsetting Villanova on the road earlier in the week behind a great effort from Scoop Jardine (20 pts and 8 assists).  Jardine will have an easier time of it with the Hoyas missing their PG Chris Wright on Saturday.  These teams are tied in the Big East standings and both can look forward to the Big Dance but it is always good fun when these classic Big East rivals hook up – there is a reason CBS put this game at 12:00.  With Wright out the Orange have a good chance at winning but the Hoyas will make them earn it.

It is a huge loss for the Hoyas when Wright is not in the lineup as he is a lot more than just their second leading scorer.  This is the first game the Hoyas will play without him but they only have this and one other regular season game to figure out whether they stay with a three guard attack or go a bit bigger with their lineup.  Either way this is still a pretty good team and they will definitely be up for the Orange on Saturday.  When they walked out of the Carrier Dome with a victory earlier in the month the key contributor was forward Hollis Thompson who came off the bench to nail 3 of 3 three pointers while scoring 11 points.  He and senior shooting guard Austin Freeman will be pivotal against that vaunted 2-3 Syracuse zone.

The current line on this one is Hoyas -1.5.  I think Georgetown will win but I would pass on this one not knowing how they will respond with out Wright.

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Prediction: Syracuse is looking to prove something while the Hoyas want to show they can still be an elite team without Wright.  To me it looks like another classic battle between these two heavy weights.  Look for Austin Freeman to provide the difference down the stretch.

Score:  Georgetown 67 – Syracuse 65

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Syracuse Orange Betting Trends

• Orange are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
• Orange are 13-6 ATS in their last 19 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
• Orange are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games.

Georgetown Hoyas Betting Trends

• Hoyas are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
• Hoyas are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. Big East.
• Hoyas are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 home games.