Pitt’s stay at No. 1 lasted just two weeks, as the Panthers dropped to No. 4 in Monday’s poll after losing at Louisville over the weekend. And how good is the Big East? Pitt currently sits in fifth place in the conference, a half-game behind Connecticut and No. 8 Syracuse, which the Panthers face on Monday night on ESPN.
Pitt is a surprisingly big 9-point favorite over the Orange on WagerWeb.com.
The Panthers missed 15 of 16 shots over the final eight minutes and turned the ball over a season-high 20 times overall in Louisville on Saturday. But Pittsburgh is one of the nation’s best defensive teams and is second in the Big East in points allowed (59.4).
If the game comes down to free throws, that would favor Pitt because the Orange make just 63.1 percent of their free throws this season, and in six Big East games the Orange’s numbers are 72-for-128 (56.2 percent). That’s last in the conference.
Orange center Arinze Onuaku went 9-for-12 from the field Saturday in a win over Notre Dame and is now 27-for-38 over the past four games. He is shooting better than 70 percent from the field this season, second in the country. Swingman Eric Devendorf is averaging 15.3 points in the past six games despite coming off the bench.
Pitt has three stellar players in DeJuan Blair, who averages 14.3 points and 12.8 rebounds, Sam Young, who leads Pitt in scoring (18.4), and point guard Levance Fields, who averages 10.2 points and 7 assists.
Fields and SU’s Jonny Flynn probably are the two best point guards in the Big East. Flynn ranks third in the conference at 5.7 assists per game. He is averaging a team-best 16.3 points per game and shooting 49 percent from the field. Fields leads the conference in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio despite a career-high six turnovers against Louisville. He needs five assists to become only the sixth player in Pitt history with 1,000 points and 500 assists.
SU is only 1-3 at Pitt since the Petersen Events Center opened in 2002. The win was 49-46 in overtime in 2004 when Pitt was No. 3. This is the first meeting between the teams since Pitt overcame an 11-point deficit in the final 3:49 to beat host Syracuse, 82-77, last season.
WagerWeb.com Game Trends
* Orange are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
* Orange are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
* Orange are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
* Orange are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 Monday games.
* Orange are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.
* Orange are 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game.
* Panthers are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss.
* Panthers are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite of 7.0-12.5.
* Panthers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a home favorite of 7.0-12.5.
* Panthers are 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
* Panthers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a S.U. Loss.
* Under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings.
* Road team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
* Orange are 1-5 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
NFL Betting at WagerWb.com
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