Syracuse, Villanova Battling To Stay Relevant in Big East Online Betting

The Big East has easily become one of the toughest conferences to call in online betting, and the fact that big name schools like Syracuse and Villanova are stuck in the middle of the pack says a lot about the depth in the conference. The Wildcats will hope that their 83-72 victory over Syracuse last month, when the Orange were ranked third in the country, will be recreated when they play the roll of hosts this time around.

A lot, however, has happened in a month for both teams. Since their last loss to the Wildcats, Syracuse has gone just 4-4 SU and 3-5 ATS in online betting.

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They’ve tumbled from a top-3 team to the low teens and are now seventh in the Big East, which is currently lead by Pittsburgh with Notre Dame and Georgetown sitting not-so-far behind.

Villanova is the fourth team in the Big East, which is surprising only because that they built zero momentum from a stunner in Syracuse last month. The Wildcats are just 4-4 SU themselves since that game, and have gone an atrocious 1-7 ATS in online betting. Of course, no staggering streak of losses is without some form of explanation.

#17 Syracuse Orange (22-6) vs. #15 Villanova Wildcats (21-6)

Monday, February 21st — The Pavilion — 7:00pm EST

Online Betting Line: Villanova -4.0

Cory Stokes, the team’s second best scoring option with 14.6 points per game, will miss his fourth straight game. For those unfamiliar with Villanova, Stokes is their long-distance assassin who drilled four 3-pointers against Syracuse the last time round the bend. Villanova is simply much easier to play defensively for the opposition since you don’t have your system broken up by Stokes running in to open areas of the perimeter with a defender frantically chasing him around.

The proof is in the online betting pudding. Villanova has been atrocious against the oddsmakers without Stokes, and they simply don’t have the depth to make up for his lingering absence.

The Wildcats, however are usually pretty strong when playing Syracuse at home. They’ve gone 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in their last 5 games at home against the Orange, and are generally a very strong team at home.

What might offset that, however, is the fact that Syracuse is actually built on the backs of three homegrown talents from the city of Philadelphia. Rick Jackson, Dion Walters and Scoop Jardine combine for 30.2 points per game and they’ll be juiced to play in their home state and town. It is indeed hard to trust any time in online betting that has gone just 3-6 ATS in their last 9 road games, but the Orange are also 16-4 SU in their last 20 games and have no significant injuries plaguing their roster.

Syracuse has been a very tough play, but Villanova has been an absolute stay away no matter what the occasion. Take the Orange on the upswing as Villanova continues to try and plug the hole Stokes’ turf toe created in their offense. That injury alone has made Villanova a no-no in online betting, even though they have the advantage of playing at home.

Furious Online Betting Pick – Syracuse +4.0

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