Regarding the Orange and the Red Storm in 2019-20, New York sportsbooks are more yellow than any other color. New York college basketball betting futures for both teams predict fewer than 20 wins for both Syracuse and Saint John’s men’s teams.
While that may not be such big news for the Red Storm, winning fewer than 20 games has been a rare occurrence for the Orange under head coach Jim Boeheim. To defy the odds, Syracuse will have to reconfigure an offense that relied on a player who has moved on to the NBA.
College basketball betting guide to Syracuse for 2019-20
One of the reasons the Orange got to 20 wins in 2018-19 was now-NBA rookie Tyus Battle. Syracuse’s reliance on him to score, however, was part of the reason the team was ousted in its opening NCAA tournament game.
Replacing Battle isn’t the only challenge that faces the Orange for the 2019-20 season. Syracuse lost four of its five starters, including another NBA rookie in Oshae Brissett. As Syracuse figures out where the scoring will come from, they’ll need high production from Boeheim’s classic 2-3 zone defense.
The schedule does Syracuse few favors too as they open up against defending national champion Virginia. The ACC looks to be tough as per usual, and beginning this year each team will play 20 conference games.
While Saint John’s doesn’t appear to be facing such a murderers’ row in conference play, the Red Storm’s schedule is daunting for their purposes nonetheless. They will also have their fair share of obstacles to overcome in the Big East.
An imperfect Red Storm for Saint John’s in 2019-20
Like the Orange, Saint John’s accumulated 20 wins and then lost its opening NCAA tournament game last season. Also like Syracuse, the Red Storm have a lot of offensive production to replace.
Three players who averaged double figures in scoring last season aren’t on the 2019-20 roster. Both of the returning starters, LJ Figueroa and Mustapha Heron, averaged over 14 points per game last season, however.
That’s about the extent of the good news for first-year head coach Mike Anderson. He has seven newcomers on the roster, and the Big East figures to be as competitive as ever.
Villanova has a top-five class incoming and could see challenges from both Seton Hall and Xavier for conference supremacy. Some experts have picked Saint John’s to finish last in the conference.
That pick corresponds with futures for the Red Storm. The outlook for the Orange lines up with New York sports betting odds regarding their fate as well.
Win totals and other futures for both teams at NY books
Both Rivers and DraftKings, which have partnered with retail casino sportsbooks in the Empire State, have Saint John’s posting just 14 wins this season. Those books do deviate on the odds of the Red Storm winning the Big East, however.
DraftKings has Saint John’s at +2400 to win its conference while Rivers lists the Red Storm at +3900 to do the same. DraftKings has Saint John’s odds of reaching the Final Four at +3600.
Both books have the Red Storm +15000 to win the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Futures odds on Syracuse aren’t quite as long.
DraftKings and Rivers put the Orange’s win total at 18.5 and they’re +2000 at both books to win the ACC regular-season title.
The current odds of the Orange reaching the Final Four at DraftKings are +1900. As far as action on Syracuse winning it all in 2019-20, three New York sportsbook operators are offering the following action.
- DraftKings: +8000
- FanDuel: +7000
- Rivers: +8000
Both teams start their quests to surpass those win totals on Wednesday, Nov. 6. For Saint John’s, the bar has been set a bit lower than that of their Orange counterparts.
