Big East Finals Betting Thoughts

I’m pretty much speechless again after Syracuse winning in overtime last night. What is easy to lose track of about the Orangemen is they have now won and covered seven in a row. You can’t give this team enough credit for how they are performing and they are now 22-8 ATS in road games off an upset win as an underdog.

They have an even greater task, trying to take down Louisville, the only team with a longer winning streak than they have in the Big East at nine games (7-2 ATS). By their style of play, the Cardinals present different problems than anyone they have played in the tournament. Teams shoot just 39.1 percent against Louisville and opposed to Connecticut who has the eraser at the rim, Rick Pitino’s club can do guard on the perimeter, along with having a few players who can swat away shots, which is why they are 17-6 ATS versus good shooting teams making 45 percent or more of their shots after 15 or more games over the last two seasons.

Bookmaker.com opened Louisville as 6.5-point favorites and the wagering public quickly bet them up to 7.5-point choice. Clearly the oddsmakers are looking at fourth game in four days, which is almost five games if you include the overtimes. The StatFox Power Line has the ‘Ville by two and my own personal figures have them by 3.5, thus it would appear there is value with Syracuse who is 22-9 ATS as a neutral court underdog or pick.

Be that as it may, I’m backing Pitino’s crew, as I believe they might be playing for national championship and their pressure will mentally wear out Syracuse for a ten-point triumph.