NCAA Tournament First Round: (11) Syracuse (16-9) vs (6) San Diego State (23-4) prediction and college basketball game preview.
Syracuse vs San Diego State Broadcast
Date: Friday, March 19
Game Time: 9:40 pm ET
Venue: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Network: CBS
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Syracuse vs San Diego State Game Preview
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Why Syracuse Will Win
You know what you’re getting when it comes to Syracuse …
Sort of.
As always, the Orange play a nasty brand of defense that does everything possible to force steals and big mistakes. As always, this is a long, athletic team that moves the ball around well, attacks the glass, and is aggressive enough be a big-time bother against the three.
It’s a good team on the free throw line, it’s occasionally deadly from three, and comes up with a whole lot of blocks with its inside presence.
San Diego State plays a defensive style and isn’t all that into getting into a high-powered shootout.
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Why San Diego State Will Win
You sort of know what you’re getting when it comes to Syracuse.
It’s all those positive things, well coached, and tough as nails, but it also has moments when the offense just doesn’t work at all. It couldn’t hit a thing against the terrific Clemson D in a 78-61 loss back in early February, and it twice struggled against Virginia and its style – which is sort of a resemblance to what San Diego State does.
San Diego State is one of the nation’s ultimate three-and-D teams, leading the Mountain West in three-point percentage, finishing eighth in the nation in scoring defense, and with a style of play that demolishes offense by attacking the ball and forcing a whole lot of steals.
To beat Syracuse, you’ve got to be aggressive on the glass – no problem there – you must be careful with the ball, and the offense has to be a bit deliberate. The Aztecs haven’t hit double-digit turnovers in any of the last four games and haven’t gotten there in eight of the last 11.
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What’s Going To Happen
Pick against Syracuse at your own peril.
This isn’t one of Jim Boeheim’s monster teams, but it’s had its moments when it the D rose up and clamped down, it was suffocating.
San Diego State’s offense is just active enough to avoid being closed down, and the defense is just nasty enough to slow things down to a grind when it needs to.
The Aztecs are a bit better from three and it’s a bit more consistent defensively. Don’t expect fireworks, but watch out for a tense thriller that comes down to the final few possessions.
Syracuse vs San Diego State Prediction, Line
San Diego State 69, Syracuse 65
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Line: San Diego State -3, o/u: 139
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1
Must See Rating: 4
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