Syracuse basketball vs. Duke odds, prediction and how to watch

Syracuse basketball puts its three-game winning streak on the line when the Orange hosts Duke this Saturday evening before what should prove a boisterous and rocking JMA Wireless Dome crowd.

Even though the Blue Devils (18-8, 9-6 in the ACC) presently aren’t ranked in the top-25 polls, Duke looks to be somewhat safely in the field of 68 for this spring’s NCAA Tournament, according to experts.

That being said, under first-year head coach Jon Scheyer, who replaced the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, Duke has had its share of struggles, although the Blue Devils have also had to deal with injuries.

This past Tuesday night, Duke got by Notre Dame at home by four points. That snapped a two-contest setback streak for the Blue Devils, which had recently fallen on the road to both Miami and Virginia.

For the ‘Cuse (16-10, 9-6), it has a ton of work to do if it wants to realistically enter the conversation for a potential invite to the 2023 Big Dance.

Syracuse basketball, though, did recently notch its first win over a ranked team during the 2022-23 stanza, as the Orange knocked off No. 23 N.C. State, 75-72, earlier this week on the Hill.

Prior to that outcome, the ‘Cuse had compiled road triumphs against Boston College and Florida State.

Syracuse basketball vs. Duke odds

On Saturday morning, actionnetwork.com had the Orange as a 1.5-point betting underdog to the Blue Devils in their Atlantic Coast Conference collision, with the over/under set at 140.5 points.

Syracuse basketball vs. Duke prediction

In their all-time series together, the Orange is just 6-14 against the Blue Devils, although since joining the ACC from the Big East Conference, Syracuse basketball has picked up a few thrilling victories over Duke.

Most recently, in the 2022 ACC Tournament’s quarterfinal round from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., a depleted Orange roster fought really hard versus the No. 1 seed Blue Devils, but Duke ended up beating the No. 9 seed Syracuse basketball, 88-79.

In that entertaining affair, the ‘Cuse was missing shooting guard Buddy Boeheim, center Jesse Edwards and forward Benny Williams.

The Blue Devils have had the Orange’s number lately, having won seven in a row against the ‘Cuse.

NCAA NET rankings fluctuate daily, but when I wrote this piece, Syracuse basketball checked in at No. 95, whereas Duke was No. 33, making this just outside the range of a quadrant-one opportunity for the Orange.

As far as the Blue Devils’ resume is concerned, Duke does have some solid victories over teams including Xavier, Ohio State, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Miami, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

At this point in the 2022-23 stanza, the Blue Devils and the ‘Cuse have the same league mark, somewhere within the middle of the pack in the ACC standings. However, Duke has way more quality victories than the Orange does.

From a statistical standpoint, Syracuse basketball scores more points per game than the Blue Devils, but the Orange also allows more points per contest.

Duke also has an advantage of about four rebounds per game over the ‘Cuse.

The Blue Devils aren’t a great shooting team, connecting on 43.7 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from downtown, but Duke is really strong at the charity stripe, where it hits on 76.6 percent.

Syracuse basketball needs to hold its own on the glass. The Orange also will try to take advantage of the 12.7 turnovers per meeting that the Blue Devils commit. The ‘Cuse getting some easy buckets out in transition would prove huge.

Duke is led by star freshman Kyle Filipowski, a 2022 five-star big man and former Orange recruiting target. Similar to Syracuse basketball point guard Judah Mintz, Filipowski is currently one of the best freshmen in not just the ACC, but across the country as well.

He paces the Blue Devils with about 15 points and nine rebounds per game.

In 2022-23, Duke is not having the same sort of season that we’re accustomed to seeing from the Blue Devils, but injuries and having to replace Coach K are two reasons why Duke is 18-8 to date in the present term.

While I do think that Syracuse basketball is going to stay with the Blue Devils, I am reluctantly going to forecast Duke to conquer the Orange at the Dome.

Injuries, how to watch, live stream, next game
On the injury front, freshman big man Peter Carey is out for the rest of the 2022-23 campaign, Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim has said.

The 6-foot-11 Carey, a power forward/center, has had a surgical procedure done on his right knee and is expected to take a medical redshirt this year, Boeheim has said.

We’ll certainly continue to monitor the injury front for the ‘Cuse in the current stanza.

The Orange and the Blue Devils will get things going at 6 pm on Saturday, Feb. 18, in Central New York. ESPN will televise this enticing match-up.

For Syracuse basketball and Duke fans who want to stream this game, you can check it out on fuboTV.

After the ‘Cuse hosts the Blue Devils, the Orange will hit the road. On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Syracuse basketball will travel to Clemson, which is a top-four squad so far in the ACC race.

The ‘Cuse and the Tigers are scheduled to tip off beginning at 7 pm inside the Littlejohn Coliseum, with television coverage on the ACC Network.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.