The ACC got a major shock on Saturday as then-No. 9 Louisville absorbed an embarrassing defeat to unranked North Carolina State. The Cardinals will look to steady the ship and get their season back on track when they take on the Syracuse Orange this coming Wednesday at Carrier Dome. The Orange are desperate for a win as well after suffering a gut-wrenching defeat Saturday to the Duke Blue Devils.
Who will grab the all-important win in this critical ACC encounter? Read on below for a preview of this pivotal showdown and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the much-anticipated clash between bitter rivals North Carolina and Duke here.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Louisville Cardinals vs. Syracuse Orange Betting Preview
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse
When: Wednesday, February 18, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Louisville Cardinals (-3) at Syracuse Orange (+3) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Louisville Cardinals
Louisville’s hopes of getting a top seed in the NCAA tournament took a huge hit Saturday as it suffered a stunning 74-65 loss to NC State. The defeat was a crippling blow to the Cardinals’ campaign as they slid down to fourth in the conference standings with an 8-4 record.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]The Cardinals had no answer for NC State star Cat Barber who was simply unstoppable for the Wolfpack. He scored 21 points to power NC State to its second win against a top 10 conference opponent this year.
It’s back to the drawing board for Louisville head coach Rick Pitino whose team is struggling for form at the present time, having lost two of its last three games. Pitino will particularly rue the fact that some of the issues they struggled with against Virginia reared their ugly head once again in their clash against NC State.
Louisville’s offensive woes showed up once again as the Cards were held by the Wolfpack to just 33 percent shooting from the field. It didn’t help matters that Montrezl Harrell struggled mightily on the offensive end for the Cardinals. He scored just seven points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field. Louisville’s second-leading scorer, Terry Rozier had a cold shooting night as well, scoring just seven points on 3-of-11 field goal shooting.
The thing that will definitely frustrate Pitino, however, is their lack of effort on the rebounding end. NC State easily won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Louisville 47-37. That is quite a disappointment for the Cardinals, who are the 15th-best rebounding team in the nation today, averaging 39.3 boards per game.
The onus is on Harrell to impose his might underneath the basket against Syracuse. He leads the Cardinals in rebounding this season, averaging 9.3 boards per game. The Cardinals will have a battle in their hands, though, against a Syracuse side that is 50th in the entire NCAA in the rebounding department, averaging 37.3 boards per game.
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Betting on the Syracuse Orange
How do you stop a behemoth like Jahlil Okafor?
The Orange are still struggling to answer that specific question after the 6’11” center wreaked havoc in Duke’s 80-72 conquest of Syracuse on Saturday night. Okafor scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils to send Syracuse to its fourth defeat in the last six games.
Syracuse big man Rakeem Christmas had a hard time dealing with Okafor’s length as he was totally dominated by the talented Duke freshman the entire game. Christmas finished with just 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting from the field. He struggled mightily at the low block, going just 2-of-10 on post-up plays for a measly four points.
Even with Christmas’ off-night, though, the Orange looked primed to grab a shock upset thanks to the heroics of Michael Gbinje. The former Blue Devil scored a career-high 27 points, including five three-pointers in the first half which helped Syracuse establish an 11-point advantage.
Unfortunately for the Orange, their shooting went cold in the second half as Duke staged its patented fight back. The Orange shot just 14-of-36 in the second half while Duke waxed hot, going 13-of-21.
Even with the setback, the Orange will take heart in the fact that they kept the game close against Duke even without Christmas’ offensive output. Christmas has been a vital cog in Syracuse’s offense this season, leading the team in scoring with 17.7 PPG. His impact extends to the other end of the floor as well as he leads the team not only in rebounds (9.2 RPG) but in blocks (2.5 BPG).
He is expected to have a much better showing against a Louisville frontline that was severely outplayed by NC State inside the shaded area. The Wolfpack outscored the Cardinals inside the paint, 32-16. That will be great news for Christmas who’s expected to attack the interior with gusto now that Okafor is out of the picture.
Writer’s Prediction
Syracuse (+3) stuns Louisville, 64-57.
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