Houston Cougars vs Syracuse Orange Point Spread Picks

Never count out Jim Boeheim as he lobbied his Syracuse team to make the NCAA Tournament and then went ahead and beat two tough opponents in San Diego State and West Virginia. The Orange has covered the spread six games in a row and is playing better than they have all season. Buddy Boeheim scored 22 of his 25 points after halftime against the Mountaineers, and the Orange's famed zone defense held them to 37.1% shooting after holding the Aztecs to 35.8%. Houston has won nine in a row, but they failed to cover against Rutgers winning by three as a 7.5-point favorite. The teams have similar stats on offense, and both defend the 3-point shot well with Syracuse allowing 31.9% and Houston 28.3% from behind the arc. Houston is 12-3 UNDER after an ATS loss and 5-2 UNDER its last seven NCAA Tournament games. Over the past 24 years under Jim Boeheim, the Orange are 100-71 UNDER in the First-Half when playing an elite team (.800 or higher), 115-76 UNDER in the First-Half when playing the underdog role, and is 31-15 UNDER in the First-Half in NCAA tournament games. I have three picks on this game. Take the points with Syracuse, play the First-Half UNDER, and also the full-game UNDER.