Louisville Cardinals at Syracuse Orange Betting Preview
Wednesday night features an ACC showdown as the Louisville Cardinals (11-4) square off with the Syracuse Orange (10-5). The Orange will host this one from the Carrier Dome, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
Louisville comes into this one having won two of their last three. On Monday, the Cardinals beat Georgia Tech 74-58. In the win, David Johnson (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Samuell Williamson (20 points, 18 rebounds) both had double-doubles. At 6-3, Louisville is currently fourth in the ACC, just a couple of games behind the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers.
While Syracuse is 10-5 overall, they have struggled in the conference at just 4-4. They have won two of their last three, including a 78-60 win over No. 16 Virginia Tech and a 76-73 win over NC State on Sunday. They will look to take advantage of their homecourt advantage as they are 9-1 at home.
Syracuse is the slight favorite playing at home. They are -134 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline is +114. The spread features Louisville +1.5 while the over/under for total points is 140.5.
By The Numbers
Offensively, Syracuse has been the stronger of the two teams. They rank 43rd in scoring, averaging 77.7 points per game. Louisville falls to 197th averaging 69.5 points per game (64.7 over their last three).
Defensively, it is Louisville with the advantage. They rank 38th in scoring defense, allowing 64.2 points per game. Syracuse ranks 169th allowing an average of 70.3 points per game.
Louisville Hopes To Continue Climb To The Top Of ACC
Sitting only a couple of games behind Virginia, the Cardinals will look to keep pace as they travel to face Syracuse on the road.
To win, they are going to have to rely on senior guard Carlik Jones and sophomore guard David Johnson. On the season, Jones is averaging 17.4 points per game while also adding 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals.
Johnson has been similarly impressive, averaging 13.1 points per game. He is especially solid behind the arc shooting 42.6% from three. Johnson also averages 6.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Other major contributors include Jae’Lyn Withers (10.1 points, 7.6 rebounds), Samuell Williamson (9.6 points, 7.5 rebounds), Dre Davis (8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds), and Quinn Slazinski (6 points, 3.5 rebounds).
Syracuse Hopes To Get Over .500 In conference
It has obviously been a rough start for the Orange in the ACC, but as they look to build their resume for the postseason, a win over a solid Louisville team would help.
Syracuse is led by sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier. He is averaging 16.3 points on 54.8% shooting. He is also chipping in 9.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
Forward Alan Griffin and guard Buddy Boeheim have also been major contributors offensively. Griffin is averaging 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks. Boeheim has also been impressive, averaging 14.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 steals.
Where Syracuse’s offense can really be deadly is in their depth. Despite the trio of top scorers, they still have two others averaging double digits in Marek Dolezaj (11 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals) and Joseph Girard III (10.2 points, 3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals).
Taking Syracuse At Home
This should be a good matchup of a solid defense in Louisville versus a solid offense in Syracuse. At the end of the day, I think it is homecourt advantage that wins out.
Syracuse is 9-1 at home, while Louisville is just 3-3 on the road. It could go either way, but I like Syracuse to win and cover the 1.5-point spread.
