Syracuse Orange v. Louisville Cardinals Prediction & Preview (2/7/24)

Syracuse (14-8, 5-6 ACC) seeks to snap a two-game losing streak when it hosts Louisville on Wednesday.

Opponent: Wake Forest (7-15, 2-9 ACC)

Date & Time: Wednesday, Feb. 7, 7 p.m.

Location: JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.

TV: ACCN

Louisville visits the JMA Wireless Dome tonight while stuck in a tie for last place in the ACC at 2-9 in conference and 7-15 overall. Syracuse (14-8, 5-6 ACC) enters the game in a bit of upheaval, as well, as forward Benny Williams was dismissed from the team Tuesday morning on the heels of a 29-point loss at Wake Forest on Saturday.

While the Cardinals have struggled this season, they did win their last outing, a 101-92 shootout at Florida State. Louisville took the lead with under eight minutes left in the first half and built a 12-point lead by intermission, giving them more than enough room to hold on for the win. The Cards made a lot of hay at the foul line, making 36-of-45 foul shots, but needed them all to offset their defense, which was characteristically poor.

Louisville has the worst defense in the ACC, giving up a hair under 78 points per game and are a distant last in field goal percentage allowed. The team just in front of them are the Orange, who are 14th in the conference in shooting percentage allowed and 12th in points allowed. Both teams struggle to stop opponents inside the arc, lacking a lot of height inside.

That said, the Cardinals have played better in their last three games. While they had an ugly loss to Virginia two Saturdays ago, that was more a function of the Cavaliers’ defense, and SU is familiar with how hard it can be to score on that group. Louisville had a six-point loss at Clemson last Tuesday, but turned in a pretty strong defensive effort on defense. The one continuing trend for Louisville of late, even in Saturday’s win over FSU, is they have struggled behind the arc, making just 15-of-70 (21.4 percent) of their 3’s in the last five games.

With the off-court change following head coach Adrian Autry’s Saturday night outburst, this game is a bit of a clean slate for Syracuse. Autry’s words underlined that there would be accountability moving forward and he backed them up with his actions. This is the team’s first chance to respond in public.

With terms now changed for them, the Orange should come out an energetic group tonight, including with a higher focus on defense. One of Louisville’s strengths is their ability to get to the line foul and succeed there, so it will be a priority for SU to come out with that energy harnessed, as their shorter roster cannot be further hindered by foul trouble.

The Cards’ lack of interior defense can be exploited, though, and Syracuse’s Judah Mintz, Maliq Brown, and Quadir Copeland should be able to do just that. With their ability to operate inside, the Orange should have enough firepower to start this new era with a win. Syracuse 75, Louisville 67.

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