Syracuse basketball, buoyed by a wonderful performance from sophomore forward Benny Williams, got back to its winning ways on New Year’s Eve, and now the Orange is set to hit the road for two consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference clashes.
First up, on Tuesday night, the ‘Cuse will travel to struggling Louisville (2-12, 0-3 in the ACC), which to date in the 2022-23 campaign is the worst squad in the ACC. The Cardinals have lost three straight, including a 86-63 road setback to in-state rival Kentucky this past Saturday.
The Orange (9-5, 2-1), meanwhile, followed up a disappointing two-point loss on December 20 at home to Pittsburgh by defeating Boston College on the Hill last Saturday afternoon, 79-65. Senior shooting guard Joe Girard III led the charge with a game-high 24 points.
But the MVP of this ACC triumph for Syracuse basketball was Williams, who was terrific on both ends of the floor. He finished with 16 points, a team-high 11 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and one assist.
Syracuse basketball at Louisville odds
When I published this column, actionnetwork.com had installed the Orange as an 8.5-point betting favorite over the Cardinals, with the over/under set at 137.5 points.
Syracuse basketball at Louisville prediction
According to orangehoops.org, the Orange is just 11-19 in its all-time series with the Cardinals. In their most recent outing, on February 5, 2022, the ‘Cuse crushed Louisville, 92-69, in Central New York.
At this juncture, Syracuse basketball is No. 137 in the NCAA NET rankings, whereas the Cardinals are an awful No. 348. Even away from the Hill, the Orange needs to defeat Louisville, or this would prove a bad loss for the ‘Cuse.
Ace recruiter and former Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne is in his first year at the helm of the Cardinals, and it’s been a rough one to date for Payne. Louisville’s roster, by the way, includes former Orange target Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, who transferred to the Cardinals from Tennessee, as well as Kamari Lands, who had previously given a verbal commitment to Syracuse basketball before reopening his recruitment and pledging to Louisville.
From a statistical standpoint, the Orange is dominating the Cardinals so far in 2022-23, according to categories listed on ESPN’s Web site. Louisville is not a good rebounding team. The Cardinals only average 61.5 points per game and allow 74.4 points per encounter.
What’s more, Louisville commits a whopping 16.6 turnovers per contest. Syracuse basketball, hopefully, can feast on the Cardinals in that arena. As a collective unit, Louisville hits on a mere 40.5 percent from the field, 73.8 percent from the charity stripe, and 31.0 percent from beyond the arc.
The Orange is clearly a better team than the Cardinals, although Louisville is at home, and I could see this bout going either way. However, I’ll go with the ‘Cuse to prevail on the road versus the Cardinals.
Injuries, how to watch, live stream, next game
On the injury front, I’m not aware of any significant injuries to note as the Orange aims to win its second league battle in a row. Certainly, we’ll stay on top of this topic throughout the current term.
Syracuse basketball and Louisville will tip off beginning at 7 pm on Tuesday, Jan. 3, from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. ESPNU will televise this conference contest.
For Syracuse basketball and Cardinals fans who want to stream this game, you can check it out on fuboTV.
After the Orange plays at Louisville, the ‘Cuse will hit the road yet again. On Saturday, Jan. 7, Syracuse basketball will head to Virginia. The Cavaliers were ranked No. 13 in last week’s Associated Press top-25 poll.
The Orange and UVA will go toe to toe from John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., beginning at 5 pm, with television coverage on the ACC Network.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.