Orangemen look to take No.1 ranking into postseason

Sportsbook players have watched a very exciting season in the world of college hoops, and Syracuse is the latest team to earn the top spot in the weekly polls. The Orangemen will take their No.1 ranking to Louisville this weekend as the Cardinals play their final game at Freedom Hall, which has been open since 1956.

Syracuse vs Louisville odds – Saturday, March 6, 2:00 PM ET

The No.1 Orangemen (28-2, 15-2) have won four straight since losing at home to Louisville, and their 85-66 romp at St. John’s was their third straight win by double digits. Arinze Onuaku led an attack of five Syracuse players in double figures with 21 points, while adding eight rebounds, while Andy Rautins hit 14 points for the Orangemen, who also made 10 more free throws than the Red Storm. The Orangemen can kill you inside and out at both ends of the floor, and a No.1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament is definitely in their reach.

The Cardinals (19-11, 10-7) haven’t set the world on fire since beating Syracuse, winning three in a row after, but a 69-48 loss at Marquette was their second in three games. No Louisville player managed to reach double figures as they were led by Edgar Sosa’s nine points. The Cardinals shot just 37% from the field, and they went to the foul line just twice, making one of them. 16 turnovers didn’t help the Cardinals much, either.

The Cardinals should be favored at home by US sportsbook odds (US sportsbook review) in what will be an emotional matchup. Syracuse have lost four in a row at Freedom Hall and five in a row overall to the Cardinals, and Rick Pitino just seems to have the number of his Syracuse counterpart, Jim Boeheim. The Orangemen would love to avenge that 66-60 loss at the Carrier Dome to the Cardinals on Valentine’s Day, when Louisville held Syracuse to 41.4% from the floor. Louisville had to shake off some shady foul shooting as they were just 9-of-17 from the free-throw line, but they came back from an 11-point deficit in the first half with hard-nosed pressure defense. The Orangemen have wrapped up the top seed in the Big East tournament and they have cleared a path to the quarterfinals, so they could have a letdown with not much to play for in the standings. Meanwhile, the Cardinals would love to send Freedom Hall into the history books with a victory, and what better way to do it than with a win over the No.1 team in the country?

NCAA basketball betting pick: Louisville

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