Orange, Badgers primed for another thriller
After suffering a 64-50 loss to South Carolina on Saturday, will Syracuse be able to rebound against one of the titans of the Big Ten?
Jim Boeheim’s team is preparing for a marquee nonconference clash vs. Wisconsin, with a 7:30 p.m. ET tip tonight in Madison. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives the Badgers odds of -360 to emerge victorious. The Orange, on the other hand, enter the Kohl Center as +295 underdogs.
Over the weekend, Syracuse’s young roster struggled mightily to generate offense in the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational. The Orange shot just 31.8 percent from the field against the Gamecocks. Moving to the charity stripe didn’t exactly help matters, either, as Frank Howard & Co. missed 10 of 26 freebies.
Greg Gard’s group failed to receive much of a challenge in its most recent contest. Wisconsin secured a 95-50 victory over Prairie View A&M behind senior Nigel Hayes’ 17-point effort. Four other Badgers also reached double figures in scoring.
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Last season, Wisconsin upended then-No. 17 Syracuse 66-58 in overtime at the Carrier Dome. Hayes and Ethan Rapp both posted double-doubles that evening. Given Syracuse’s persistent problems in the post, expect a similar result shortly.
TUESDAY NCAA FREE PICK: SYRACUSE/WISCONSIN UNDER 124.5 POINTS