Syracuse basketball is a sizable betting favorite when the Orange welcomes Northeast Conference school Stonehill from Easton, Mass., to the Hill on Monday night in the final non-conference encounter for the 'Cuse during the 2025-26 season.
When I wrote this article on Monday morning, FanDuel had Syracuse basketball (8-4 overall) as a 23.5-point betting favorite over the Skyhawks (3-9 overall), with the over/under set at 139.5 points.
When playing mid-major programs at home, the Orange has often been a large betting favorite, but that hasn't always translated to a large margin of victory. This past Saturday, at the JMA Wireless Dome, the 'Cuse was a 14.5-point betting favorite over Northeastern but ended up winning by just eight points.
Earlier this month, Syracuse basketball was favored by 10.5 points over fellow Empire State team Hofstra at the Dome, but the Orange ended up losing by one point in a bad setback for the 'Cuse.
Syracuse basketball wraps up non-conference play on Monday evening.
Following its battle with Stonehill, the Orange will go on its holiday break. Then, on New Year's Eve, the 'Cuse will welcome Clemson to the Hill for the Orange's Atlantic Coast Conference opener. It is during that game that sophomore power forward Donnie Freeman, who has only played four games this campaign due to a lower-body injury, is expected to return.
Syracuse basketball, 1-0 in its short all-time series with the Skyhawks, needs to get its defensive mojo back after allowing a whopping 83 points to Northeastern. Granted, in that win, the Orange scored 91 points and had a huge advantage at the free-throw line.
But the team's calling card in 2025-26 has been defense, and when Syracuse basketball plays stout defense, it usually leads to good things on offense, especially out in transition. The Orange, at the time of this writing, had an NCAA NET ranking of No. 92, which is sub-par.
By extension, Stonehill's NET ranking checked in at No. 336, making Monday night's affair a quadrant-four contest that the 'Cuse can ill-afford to lose. In fact, Syracuse basketball needs to crush the Skyhawks by a wide margin; otherwise, the Orange could fall in the NET and also via KenPom, where it is currently No. 83 overall.