Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Syracuse Orange Prediction, 11/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Central Connecticut Blue Devils vs Syracuse Orange

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026

Location: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY

TV: ESPN+

The Syracuse Orange (15-17 last season) host the Central Connecticut Blue Devils (18-12 last year) at JMA Wireless Dome on Thursday.

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils faced off with Temple and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 68-56 in their last game. Central Connecticut finished with a 35.0% field goal percentage (21 of 60) and buried 8 out of their 21 shots from downtown. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Blue Devils made 6 of 13 tries for a percentage of 46.2%. With respect to rebounding, they collected 30 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 14 assists for this contest as well as forcing 10 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In the matter of defense, Central Connecticut allowed their opponent to shoot 45.8% from the floor on 27 of 59 shooting. Temple totaled 15 dimes and had 10 steals in this contest. Additionally, Temple grabbed 36 rebounds (7 offensive, 29 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Temple finished 60.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 6 of their 10 shots. They also knocked down 8 out of their 30 tries from 3-point land. In reference to fouls, the Blue Devils walked away with 11 and Temple recorded 11 fouls.

Ashton Reynolds is a guy who was a major factor in the matchup. He ended up going 54.5% from the field and dished out 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 28 mins and also snagged 3 boards. He ended up finishing with 18 points on 6 out of 11 shooting.

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Central Connecticut comes into this one after finishing with a mark of 18-12 last season. They turned the ball over 10.6 times per contest and as a squad committed 13.7 fouls per contest. As a group, Central Connecticut grabbed 34.4 boards per game and had 414 dimes last year, which had them ranked 264th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Blue Devils connected on 36.8% on shots from distance (219 of 595) and 76.9% from the free throw line. They had an average of 73.8 points per contest (234th in college hoops) while going 47.1% from the field.

Defensively, the Blue Devils were able to force 9.4 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 15.9 fouls. They surrendered 32.9% on shots from distance and they ranked 97th in Division 1 in opponents PPG (70.9). The Blue Devils defense gave up a shooting percentage of 43.0% (771 of 1,794) and they relinquished 33.0 boards per game as a team. They were 125th in college hoops in giving up assists with 420 relinquished last season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Syracuse Orange walked away with a victory by a final of 74-58 when they faced New Haven. The Orange were able to collect 24 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards totaling 37 for the contest. They turned it over 4 times, while getting 9 steals for this contest. New Haven committed 16 fouls for this game which took the Orange to the charity stripe for a total of 25 tries. They were able to knock down 18 of those for a percentage of 72.0%. In relation to 3-pointers, Syracuse converted 8 of 28 attempts (28.6%). Overall, the Orange ended up going 24 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.3%. The Orange allowed New Haven to knock down 23 out of 54 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.6% in this contest. They wrapped up this game 33.3% from three-point range by connecting on 7 of 21 and finished the contest at 5 out of 9 from the free throw line (55.6%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Syracuse allowed New Haven to get 29 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Gavin Doty was important for the Orange in this contest. He converted 3 of 7 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and had 13 rebounds. He racked up 14 points in his 33 mins on the court and added 3 assists for this contest.

Syracuse had a mark of 15-17 last season. The Orange committed 16.4 fouls per contest while shooting 64.8% from the charity stripe. They dished out assists 12.8 times per game (256th in the nation) and they coughed up possession 11.0 times per contest. Syracuse earned 2,400 pts over the course of last year (75.0 per contest) and they collected 34.2 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Orange shot 46.5% from the floor, which was ranked 100th in the nation.

The Orange defensively were ranked 191st in college hoops in PPG given up with 74.3. They forced their opponents into 12.0 turnovers per game and allowed teams to shoot 44.2% from the field (180th in D-1). The Syracuse defense allowed 34.1% on shots from behind the 3-point line (234 of 687) and their opponents made 72.1% of their free throw attempts. They relinquished 12.9 assists and 37.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 161st and 323rd in D-1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Syracuse

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