Syracuse vs. Louisville Official TNIAAM Predictions & Poll

The Syracuse Orange (15-8, 4-6) are going to need some more wins — including a couple on the road — this season. With eight games to play, they’ll start looking for one against the Louisville Cardinals (16-7, 6-4) on Monday night. Louisville’s lost two straight just like SU but are in slightly better shape for the NCAA Tournament.

You can watch Syracuse vs. Louisville at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN or WatchESPN, assuming you haven’t made the trip down for the game.

So what does (some of) the TNIAAM staff think will happen in this game?

Andrew Godnick

Louisville 64, Syracuse 61

Syracuse is running out of time to build a strong resume for a bid to the Big Dance, and a loss today will make it even harder to earn a spot. The Orange will find a little more offense in this one, but they will struggle again from deep which will doom them when it matters most.

Kevin Wall

Louisville 64, Syracuse 57

The Orange have struggled mightily the last three games, shooting 39 for 101 from 2-pt range (h/t Lauren Brownlow for the stat). Heading into Louisville on short rest and facing a strong opponent does not seem like the remedy for the poor shooting flu travelling through Syracuse’s locker room. Expect the Orange to fight for 40 minutes but the standard 5 minute scoring drought will keep them from getting a huge road win.

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Bobby Manning

Louisville 70, Syracuse 50

There isn’t a game on the schedule I have less hope for. Louisville owns Syracuse and David Padgett hasn’t skipped a beat at home with this year’s squad. The Orange probably wishes it could swap this one to the Dome rather than the Virginia game. The Cardinals stand at 14-2 at home and turn offensive mistakes into points at a rapid pace. Despite efficiency numbers that don’t stand out on paper, Louisville is top 75 in steals and third in the country with 157 blocks. Those trends don’t bode well for a Syracuse team that’s 2-4 in standard road games, 300th in scoring/game, 330th in three-point shooting and scored fewer points every game for four straight culminating in the worst 44 the Carrier Dome has ever seen.

Even worse, Syracuse is 8-18 in program history vs. the Cardinals, including three straight losses over the past two seasons. Donovan Mitchell notably smoked Syracuse last year but Deng Adel quietly scored 11 and 17 between the two wins for the Cardinals last season vs. the Orange. Even though Mitchell’s soaring for the Jazz, Adel returns for another round with Syracuse tonight.

James Szuba

Louisville 61, Syracuse 51

With the Syracuse starters logging heavy minutes and depth becoming a vital factor, I think Syracuse losses this game by double-digits on the road. While Louisville is also on short rest, the Syracuse rotation remains slim - we don’t know if Bourama will even play tonight. The Louisville bigs should have their way on the glass and in the paint tonight. Thus, the Syracuse road woes continue.

John Cassillo

Louisville 64, Syracuse 60

There are plenty of reasons to expect a blowout: Syracuse is just two days removed from a disastrous effort vs. Virginia, the Orange probably have limited minutes (at best) available from Bourama Sidibe and Matthew Moyer, and SU’s been a wreck on the road for four straight years now. However, where I’m slightly optimistic is on the sidelines. Jim Boeheim vs. a rookie head coach? Even with the talent on the Louisville roster, I’d think Jim is able to make this a dog fight by way of strategy alone. Just not enough to pull off the upset.

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