Syracuse Goes from +9000 National Championship Odds to +5000 Entering Sweet 16

• The Syracuse Orange were not even a lock to make the NCAA Tournament and now they are in the Sweet 16
• The Orange are showing that anything can happen in March
• Read on to find out if the Boeheim & Son can continue its run in the Big Dance

In the days leading up to the Selection Sunday, there was debate as to whether or not the Syracuse Orange would even be in the field of 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Orange finished the regular season with an 18-9 mark but only eighth in the ACC. They squeaked in as an 11-seed and weren’t given much of a chance to win as their average odds to win the tournament were +13333 before it started.

After their first-round win over San Diego State, their odds improved to +9000 as the field was cut in half. After their latest win over West Virginia their odds have shrunk to +2900. At some point, bettors have to start asking themselves, “can Syracuse win the whole thing”?

The table below shows the movement in the national championship odds from March 19th to 22nd.

2021 NCAA Tournament Championship Odds

Odds represent the average at online sportsbooks as of March 22, 2021.

Syracuse Can Score the Basketball

The Orange can score with anyone in the country. They have the 15th-most-efficient offense in the country (adjusted for opponent) according KenPom. Led by Buddy Boeheim, they are one of the more dangerous teams in the county shooting the ball. They can get hot at any moment and when they do, watch out, because they can hit from anywhere.

Buddy Boeheim said he’s a “bucket” after making a 3 😳 pic.twitter.com/XFZEsMQvuv

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 21, 2021

On the season, they averaged 75.9 points per game which was good for 54th in the nation. What’s most impressive is the fact that they don’t play very fast, ranking 147th in pace. They don’t waste opportunities on the free-throw line either as they are 16th best in the nation from the charity stripe. Teams are simply tasked with outscoring the Orange as they are basically unstoppable on offense.

Making It Rain

So far the strategy for the Orange in the tournament has been to shoot the lights out from behind the three-point line. In their round one win over San Diego State, the Aztecs could do nothing but watch helplessly as the Orange drained three after three right in their faces. When the smoke finally cleared, Syracuse had gone 15-27 from distance. In their next game against West Virginia, they went right back to the well.

Buddy Boeheim is on FIRE @BarstoolCuse pic.twitter.com/xjsDwKzvbk

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 20, 2021

Although the game against the Mountaineers was much closer, than their round one win, the Orange still had their way behind the three-point line. They went 14-31 from distance in round two bringing their running total for the tournament to a ridiculous 29-58 (50%). They will be a tough out for anyone if they continue to shoot like that.

How Far Can They Go?

At first they were a cute story but as some point bettors will have to start taking the Orange seriously. Although the road to the national title will only get harder from here, it’s not impossible. Their next game is against Houston which could be the end of the road for Syracuse.

Only 11 teams in the country did a better job defending the three than Houston this season which could be a problem for the Orange. They only allowed opponents to connect on 29.3% of long range attempts on the season. All hope isn’t lost though as they just allowed Rutgers to hit 43.8% in their last game.

If the Orange get past Houston it will mean a date with either Loyola Chicago or Oregon State. If they survive that, Baylor could be waiting. At this point, Syracuse does not seem like a great bet value wise to win this thing at +5000 since they will likely have to beat Baylor and Gonzaga. Still, they are firmly in play up until those matchups given how they are shooting from deep.