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*CBB(1u): Pittsburgh -6 vs Syracuse–4 PM CT
I’m not a huge believer in Pitt’s chances when the calendar turns to March, but it’s not going to matter in this matchup. Pitt matches up perfectly facing Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, and I think the Panthers hold a sneaky defensive edge in this matchup as well. This is Syracuse’s second straight road game, while Pitt will enjoy their second straight game in their friendly confines.
Pitt attempts the 25th most 3’s per game in CBB and makes them at an efficient 35.7% clip. I’ve backed Syracuse in matchups where teams can’t take advantage of their zone style(such as UNC and NC State), but as Clemson showed the other day, good shooting teams will eat up this defense. Pitt put up 84 at Syracuse earlier in the year, and I expect a similar result in this one.
Syracuse is an efficient outside shooting team, but they shoot 3’s at a bottom 30 rate in the country. Their 2pt offense is incredibly mediocre(158th in 2pt FG%), and this is a matchup where I think their lack of aggressiveness will bite them. Pitt blocks 4.5 shots per game and ranks 62nd in 2pt defense, and they defend the 3 quite well also.
As an added bonus, it doesn’t hurt backing a Pitt team over the full game that shoots nearly 77% from the foul line. I think Pitt has another efficient shooting day against ‘Cuse and wins this game by double-digits(and then we can sell high on them).
