Though still squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, Syracuse rides into Saturday’s game against Louisville off the high of stunning Duke at the buzzer Wednesday night inside the Carrier Dome. The victory broke a three-game skid and also provided the Orange with perhaps their most impressive win of the season so far.
The Orange are 25th nationally in steals (8.1 spg), 25th in blocked shots (5.0 bpg), 35th in assists turnovers ratio (1.33), and 50th in three-point field goal percentage (.382). Andrew White leads the ACC and is 16th nationally in three-pointers made (3.17 per game) and is eighth in scoring (17.5 ppg).
Notable:
—Louisville is 14th in the nation in field goal defense (.393), eighth in blocked shots (5.7 bpg), 15th in three-point field goal percentage defense (.305), 16th in scoring margin (+12.8) and 14th in offensive rebounds per game (13.5).
—This is the second time this season that Louisville will be facing an ACC opponent twice in 13 days. The Cards swept their season series with Pittsburgh over the same amount of time last month.
—Syracuse is just 2-9 in true road games.
—Louisville is 14-1 in home games.
—In his last 15 games, Donovan Mitchell has averaged 19.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 steals and has made 45-of-106 three-pointers (.425). Mitchell leads the ACC and is 22nd in the nation in steals (2.1 per game).
—Syracuse’s Tyler Lydon has played every minute of the Orange’s last 10 games.
—Louisville has won has won 24 consecutive home games against teams it has played on the road earlier in the season, and is 27-1 in such games under Rick Pitino.
—Syracuse is 3-2 vs. top 10 teams this season.
—Louisville is 24-1 in its last 25 conference games played on Sunday.
—Louisville has not lost to an unranked opponent this season.
—Louisville has a 56-18 record (.757) in February over the last nine years (since 2007- 08), winning 22 of its last 30 in the month.
—Louisville has a 35-8 record in its conference home games over the last five years (.814).
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 77, Syracuse 65
