Syracuse already won the first match up between these two old Big East rivals 59-54, but easily could have lost that game in my opinion. I was on Pitt +5 that game and got a push, but Pitt should have clearly covered that game. Now Syracuse has to go on the road as the #1 team in the land to play at Pitt where they are 2-6 in their last 8. Syracuse has not been tested on the road this season despite being 5-0 they have played the likes of St. Johns, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Miami and Wake. Neither of those teams know how to defeat Syracuse's zone defense like Jamie Dixon and Pitt do.

In the first match up Pitt really played a poor game and were still in the game. They shot 38.3% and allowed 51.2% from the field. Expect those to revers as Pitt shoots 47.8% at home and allows 38.5%. They shot 13-23 from the FT line while they are 72% at home on the season. They still should hold a rebound advantage like they did in the first match up and they have good guard play with a 1.71 assist to turnover ratio. Syracuse big man off the bench could be out for this game in Keita which could really give Pitt even more of an advantage inside. The fact that Syracuse is ranked #1 is based on their undefeated record and win over Duke, but all of their tough games have been at home. I don't think this team is that good compared to previous years. They are ranked 88th in 2 point defense while Pitt is ranked 39th so some stats are misleading. The public automatically sees Syracuse's record and assumes they are the better team, but not tonight.

Orange are 5-15-1 ATS in their last 21 vs. Pitt and we will continue to back the trend of ranked road teams. 9 top 25 teams have lost outright on the road over the last 3 days.

Where to find Freddy?