Syracuse looks to bounce back from its first loss of the year when they visit Cincinnati in a Big East showdown on ESPN’s Big Monday telecast. Tipoff is at 7 PM ET at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati.
Sports betting shops opened with the Orange favored by -4 points and a total of 135. Early NCAA basketball betting action has seen both of these numbers rise 1/2 a point at most sportsbooks.
Both teams are coming off setbacks on Saturday. The Syracuse Orange (20-1 SU, 13-7 ATS) saw its 20-game winning streak come to end with a 67-58
defeat at Notre Dame. James Southerland led the Orange with 15 points while
senior Kris Joseph had
12. Waiters finished with 11 points Dion Waiters contributed 11 points and
recorded four steals. The Fighting Irish held Syracuse to season-lows in
points, field goals made (18) and field goal percentage (34.0). The 20-0 season
start was the best in school history and tied for the best Big East start ever.
Jim Boeheim’s club was without Fab Melo, who leads
the team in rebounding (5.7 rbg) and blocked shots (3.0 bpg). He’ll also be
sidelined for tonight’s game due to an unresolved academic issue from the
first semester. Melo may be able to
return to the team next week, depending on when the situation is rectified.
Cincinnati (15-5 SU, 7-7 ATS) suffered a 77-74
overtime loss at West Virginia on Saturday. Cashmere Wright led four
Bearcats in double figures with 17 points and a career-best seven
rebounds. Yancy Gates posted a double-double with 10 points and 13
rebounds while Dion Dixon and Sean Kilpatrick tallied 12
points each.
Overall, four Cincinnati players are averaging in
double figures scoring led by Kilpatrick (16.0 ppg). Kilpatrick is 13th in
the conference in scoring while Dixon is 22nd in the league (13.9 ppg).
Cincinnati’s other double-digit scorers are Gates (12.2 ppg) and Wright (10.8
ppg). Gates leads the team in rebounding (9.4 boards per game) and Wright has
dished out a team-best 96 assists.
The Bearcats can be deadly from downtown. They rank
second in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage (36.8) and lead in makes (162). Cincy’ is averaging 70.8
per games overall and allowing 60.1 compared to 73.0/57.4 at home.
Syracuse is 22nd in the nation in scoring
(78.9 ppg) and is allowing just 60.7 ppg. The Orange margin of victory of +18.2
is among the best in the country and is No. 1 in the Big East.
Coaches
Mick Cronin is in his sixth season at the helm of
the Cincinnati program. He has guided the Bearcats to a record of 102-82 and is
171-106 in his nine seasons as a head coach. Cronin is 1-4 vs. Syracuse.
Jim Boeheim is in his 36th season at Syracuse
(876-302). Boeheim owns a career record of 876-302 (.744). Boeheim is second
among active Division I coaches in wins, trailing only Mike Krzyzewski
(Duke). The 2011 NCAA berth gave the
Orange 34 post-season appearances under Boeheim, including 28 NCAA Tournaments.
His teams have won 21-or-more games in 31 seasons. He has guided his alma mater
to the NCAA title game three times, winning it for the first time in 2003.
The
series
Syracuse leads the all-time series against
Cincinnati, 6-2 and has captured the last three meetings. The Orange has won
the last three meetings. Last season SU defeated the Bearcats, 67-52, in the
Carrier Dome.
Oddity
Dating back to last season, UC has won 10 of its
last 13 regular-season league games. The Bearcats saw their seven-game league
road win streak end Saturday at West Virginia.
Cincy’ is 3-1 ATS in its last four games and are
riding a 4-0 streak to the ‘over’. Syracuse has failed to cover in its last two
games while the ‘under’ has cashed in three straight.
Harvey’s Take: This is a tricky spot for the Orange. Cincinnati is
playing well and without Fab Melo, Syracuse lacks the dominant presence inside.
I’ll side with the Bearcats tonight who will cover and might get the SU win.
Good luck!