Syracuse Orange vs. Louisville Cardinals: Odds, Betting Preview

The Louisville Cardinals are 11-0 straight up and 7-3-1 against the spread over their last 11 games. They will look to add to that winning streak and hold on to their new No. 1 ranking with a win at home over the No. 6 Syracuse Orange this Saturday.

Louisville opened as seven-point favorites in the Big East battle, according to OddsShark.com, while the total was sitting around 133.5 early Saturday.

The Cardinals have dominated the Orange against the spread, streaking to a 7-1-1 ATS mark in their past nine meetings.

While the Duke Blue Devils, Michigan Wolverines and Arizona Cardinals were picking up their first losses of the season, Louisville kept surging to claim the nation’s top spot in both the AP and coaches' polls.

Now at 16-1 SU and 10-6-1 ATS on the season, Louisville can hold onto that No. 1 ranking with a signature win Saturday over Syracuse. Led by junior guard Russ Smith (18.9 PPG), Louisville ranks 33^rd in the nation in scoring, averaging 76.9 PPG.

Syracuse is also having an outstanding season, with a 16-1 SU and 8-4-1 ATS record. A road win over Louisville would likely propel the Orangemen into the Top 5. With a trio of players (Brandon Triche, C.J. Fair and James Southerland) all averaging over 13.5 PPG, the Orange rank 16^th in the nation in scoring with 79 PPG.

Syracuse is 2-0 SU (1-1 ATS) in its last two games against Louisville, but Louisville holds the clear edge over the last five years, with a 7-2 SU and 7-1-1 ATS record in their last nine meetings. The under is 5-2-1 over the last seven games between these two Big East rivals.

All odds, stats and trends mentioned courtesy of OddsShark.com. Mike Pickett is an analyst at Bleacher Report and contributes to the Twitter feed.