Super streak or soft sked? That's the question Syracuse bettors are asking themselves.
Since winning five of its last six games (4-2 ATS), the Orange have climbed the Big East standings and sit in fifth place tied with nine wins along side the Marquette Golden Eagles. This recent push has given Orange backers hope for an outright bid in the field of 65 come selection Sunday on March 11.
But a weak conference schedule over the last six games has allowed Syracuse to make this postseason run with wins coming against Big East bottom-feeders like South Florida, St. John’s, Providence and UConn - all of whom have sub-.500 records against the spread.
Syracuse barely came away with the wins over the Red Storm and the Friars and isn’t in the same league as Monday's opponent, Georgetown.
The Hoyas are the hottest team in the country right now, winning 11-straight games in Big East play (9-0-2 ATS) and are coming off a huge win over then-conference leader Pittsburgh this past Saturday as 7-point favorites.
While some bettors are looking for a letdown spot from Georgetown, some handicappers like David Malinsky of Covers Experts are counting the national exposure and some recent history between these two teams to keep the Hoyas from taking Syracuse lightly.
“There are a variety of factors that has Georgetown coming to play here,” says Malinsky. “The national television cameras and the desire to move up to a No. 2 seed for the tournament.”
“And also it's first crack at Syracuse since getting clipped at the buzzer in the semifinals of the Big East tournament last March,” notes Malinsky. “When a team doesn’t lose many games the losses they do have create bitter memories and that means a good focus in the return encounters.”
It also doesn’t help that the Orange are playing with a very short bench due to illness and injury. Head coach Jim Boeheim has only gone two or three deep into his reserve during his team’s last six games and can only get limited minutes out of senior forward Terrance Roberts (torn meniscus) and junior guard Josh Wright (sickness).
“[Syracuse] won’t be able to get by short-handed against the class of teams that it will be playing,” says Malinsky. “Georgetown and Villanova are both better and deeper, and can bring a higher energy level to the table. Syracuse basically got past Providence with six players in the rotation and that is difficult to survive at this stage.”
Oddsmakers have the Orange set as 3 1/2-point underdogs for Monday’s game against the Hoyas, with the total set at 134. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN live from the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.