Syracuse vs. Marquette Point Spread at Orange -4.5

Carrie Stroup here with your Syracuse vs. Marquette point spread, courtesy of Sportsbook.com where you can claim your FREE $100 BET here.

Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Syracuse -4.5 & 128

A pair of Big East teams will meet in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years when third-seeded Marquette takes on fourth-seeded Syracuse in the East Regional Final on Saturday afternoon in Washington, DC.

The Golden Eagles beat their conference foe in the Round of 32 in 2011 by a 66-62 score, and also won the lone meeting this season, 74-71 on Feb. 25, marking the fifth straight ATS win in this series (3-2 SU). In that game, Syracuse led by 10 points with 2:00 left in the first half, but Marquette outscored the Orange 55 to 42 in the final 22 minutes, thanks to PF Davante Gardner's career-high 26 points. But Syracuse, which just knocked off top-seeded Indiana on Thursday, has played as well as any team in the NCAA Tournament, winning by 21.3 PPG and holding its three opponents to 48.0 PPG on 31.2% FG. Syracuse is now 6-1 SU (4-3 ATS) in the postseason and 7-2 SU (5-4 ATS) on a neutral court this season. The Golden Eagles squeaked by both of their first two tourney opponents, edging 14th-seeded Davidson by one point on a Vander Blue lay-up with one second left in regulation, then prevailing by two points over sixth-seeded Butler when the Bulldogs' last-second shot was way off the mark. However, Marquette crushed Miami by 10 points on Thursday to improve to 9-2 SU in its past 11 games and 5-2 SU (4-3 ATS) on a neutral court this season.

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Syracuse's 2-3 zone has really bothered its past six opponents, holding them to 56.0 PPG on 35.0% FG, with none of the six teams making even one-third of their three-point attempts. Indiana entered Thursday's game with 79.5 PPG, 49% FG and 41% threes (all among top-6 teams in nation), but Syracuse limited the Hoosiers to 50 points on 33% FG and 3-of-15 threes. That improved the Orange's national ranks in scoring defense to 26th (59.1 PPG), shooting defense to third (37.2% FG) and three-point defense to fourth (28.7% threes). Syracuse also tallied 12 steals and 10 blocks versus Indiana, improving those areas to 6.2 BPG (5th in nation) and 9.1 SPG (13th in D-I). This team continues to go as far as PG Michael Carter-Williams (12.1 PPG) will allow it to. The 6-foot-6 sophomore ranks third in the nation in assists (7.5 APG) and fifth in steals (2.74 SPG). He scored a game-high 24 points on Thursday with six rebounds and four steals. But not all is well with Carter-Williams, who has just four helpers and seven turnovers combined in his past two games, and has made a pathetic 10-of-28 free throws (36%) in the past five contests. Senior SG Brandon Triche (13.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.5 APG) has committed way too many turnovers in the past four games (4.5 TOPG), but bounced back from a 1-of-8 shooting night in the Round of 32 to score 14 points on 6-of-12 FG versus Indiana. The backcourt duo played pretty well in Milwaukee last month with a combined 22 points and 13 assists, but also committed seven turnovers. PF C.J. Fair (14.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG) was the team's best player in that loss at Marquette with 20 points (8-of-11 FG) and seven rebounds. The team's top scorer and rebounder has also played pretty well in the NCAA Tournament with 14.0 PPG (47% FG) and 5.7 RPG. Senior PF James Southerland (13.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG) is the best shooter for the Orange at 41% threes, but hasn't shot much during the tourney, going 8-for-19 FG (4-of-10 threes) in the three games combined. In the Big East Tournament, Southerland made 19-of-33 threes (58%) in the four games. He has certainly focused his energy on the defensive end though, with 8.0 RPG and 3.0 SPG in the past two wins. Neither Triche, Fair nor Southerland played very well in the 2011 NCAA Tournament loss to Marquette, as Triche produced eight points and four turnovers, Fair had as many fouls as points (four each) and Southerland scored seven points on 1-of-4 threes.

Marquette is not a team that likes to play high-scoring games, tallying just 68.9 PPG (133rd in nation) and allowing 62.8 PPG (75th in D-I). But this is a very smart and efficient team that rarely takes bad shots, making 46.3% FG (38th in nation). The Golden Eagles make just 4.2 threes per game (18th-fewest in D-I), but get a lot of their points by crashing the glass for easy put-backs (+4.5 RPG margin, 44th in nation). After getting outshot in their first two NCAA Tournament wins, Marquette made 54% FG versus Miami, and held the 'Canes to 35% FG. If this game comes down to which team makes its foul shots, the Golden Eagles will certainly like their chances, as they shoot 72.9% FT (57th in nation), making 14-of-19 free throws on Thursday. Syracuse hits just 67.7% FT (228th in D-I) this season. Marquette's most valuable player continues to be junior SG Vander Blue (14.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG) who after winning the Davidson game with his 16th point (5-of-15 FG), has pumped in 21.5 PPG on 59% FG with 3.0 SPG. Blue has made 5-of-10 threes in the Big Dance, while burying all 12 of his free-throw attempts. Three other Golden Eagles players joined Blue in double-figures on Thursday, as PF Jamil Wilson (9.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG) scored 16 points with eight boards, PF Davante Gardner (11.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG) scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and C Chris Otule (5.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG) netted 11 points in just 15 minutes. Although Wilson (14.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG in NCAA Tournament) made just 3-of-12 shots (1-of-8 threes) versus Syracuse last month, he still finished with 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Gardner was a flawless 7-of-7 FG and near-perfect 12-of-13 FT in that game, and also pulled down eight rebounds (four offensive) in the best game of his career. PG Junior Cadougan (8.6 PPG, 3.9 APG) also played well in that win over the Orange with 12 points, four steals, three assists and just one turnover in 38 minutes. He also had nine points, three assists and only one turnover in the 2011 NCAA Tournament win over Syracuse. But Cadougan has not run the offense particularly well in this current Big Dance, producing only three assists with six turnovers in the three contests combined.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter