5* MONDAY NIGHT BIG EAST BOOKIE BEATDOWN

Syracuse vs. Louisville, 02/13/2012 19:00 EDT, Score: 52 - 51

Point Spread: -3/-101 Syracuse

Sportsbook: 5Dimes

Result: Loss

The Orange are showing some great value as just a 2.5-point favorite. Louisville is clearly one of the better teams in the nation, but they aren't on the same level as Syracuse. I'm not saying Louisville can't win this game, I just think Syracuse's talent would lead them to a win 9 out of 10 times. I understand the Cardinals have won 7 straight in the series, but these are to completely different teams. In fact, I think that will actually cause Syracuse to come and extremely motivated to not be another team on the list of losing to the Cardinals.

Syracuse has lost just 1 game all season, but that was without Fab Melo who is a bigger part to this team than his numbers may indicate. Playing on Monday usually means playing in a highly regarded game on national TV. The Cuse are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Monday games.

A few more things that really point to a Syracuse cover is the fact that the Orange are 20-7-1 ATS in their last 28 games as a road favorite of 0.5-6.5, while Louisville is just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games as a home underdog of 0.5-6.5. BET SYRACUSE!