West Virgninia Mountaineers at Syracuse Orange, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
Monday, February 14, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Opening Line: Syracuse -5
Current Line: Syracuse -5.5
Opening Total: 133
Current Total: 133
Money Line: Syracuse -220 / West Virginia +180
The 12th-ranked Syracuse Orange (20-6, 7-6 Big East) will look to avoid their fourth straight home loss on Monday when they host the 25th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (16-8, 7-5) at the Carrier Dome. The Orange (-5.5) will also go for their fourth victory in a row against the Mountaineers in a series they have dominated by winning 16 of the last 19 meetings.
Syracuse has struggled lately in conference play, dropping six of eight following an 18-0 start to the season. The Orange have lost consecutive games after ending a season-high four-game losing streak with a pair of wins. They are coming off a 73-69 loss at Louisville on Saturday, nearly rallying all the way back from a 20-point deficit in the second half.
The backcourt of Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche turned in one of their best combined performances of the season for Syracuse, totaling 41 points, seven assists and five rebounds with just two turnovers between them. The duo was especially dangerous from beyond the 3-point arc, making 8 of 17 shots and 15 of 28 overall. Freshman C.J. Fair was the only other Orange player to finish in double figures with 11 points while leading scorer Kris Joseph was held to nine on 2 of 5 shooting from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Joseph had scored in double figures in the previous six games along with 11 of 12 and will need to be aggressive down the stretch if his team is going to be a factor in the Big East or NCAA tournaments. He scored 13 in a 72-71 win at West Virginia last year, and Triche led the way with a team-high 16 as a freshman.
West Virginia allowed Syracuse to shoot nearly 58 percent from the field (26 of 45) in that game and made two less baskets on 16 more attempts (39.3 percent). The Mountaineers got a game-high 18 points from Darryl Bryant, who scored 11 in an 82-71 win over DePaul on Saturday. The Blue Demons lost their 25th straight Big East game despite shooting 51 percent from the field.
The 82 points were the most for West Virginia in nine games, as the team had scored more than 68 only once in the previous eight. The Mountaineers have failed to cover their last three games with the total going OVER in the past two. They have also failed to cover the last three meetings in the series with the Orange along with eight of the past 10. The UNDER is 5-1 in the last six games between the teams.
Now that you have read this Big East college basketball betting preview featuring Syracuse & West Virginia, check out the NCAA basketball odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
