NCAAB: Syracuse vs. Louisville preview and pick

When the Syracuse Orange visit Louisville on Wednesday night, it will face an opponent on a losing streak and trying to find its new offensive rhythm.

Rough road trip for Louisville

Louisville, which was the top-ranked team in the nation in December, was swept last week by two unranked opponents. The Cardinals fell to Georgia Tech and Clemson by a combined margin of 21 points. The Georgia Tech loss snapped Louisville’s 10-game winning streak.

In both losses Louisville got into trouble early in the first half and could not recover. In the first half against Clemson, Louisville shot just 15% from the field and trailed 31-14 at the break.

Finding offensive identity

In those two games junior forward and preseason ACC Player of the Year Jordan Nwora scored just seven points combined and was held to just two points on 1-of-6 shooting against Georgia Tech.

After that performance, head coach Chris Mack opted not to start Nwora, but the result was the same. Now the Cardinals return home to figure out how to right the ship with just five regular-season games left.

The team reportedly held a players-only meeting Tuesday to address the recent slump, and rumors are swirling about freshman David Johnson getting a spot in the starting lineup. Mack didn’t rule that out, and said everything is on the table.

Syracuse is in prime position to pull off an upset

Syracuse enters off a loss to No. 8 Florida State in Tallahassee, but had won six of nine games before that. They’ll look to pull off the upset, led by the dynamic duo of Elijah Hughes and Joseph Girard III. Those two combined for 47 of Syracuse's 77 points against FSU.

But the outcome of Wednesday night’s game will depend on which Louisville team shows up. If the team that demolished Duke and manhandled Michigan shows up, the Orange should return home with a loss. But if Louisville can’t get the offensive spark back, it could be headed into a slide at the worst time of the season.

NCAAB free pick: Syracuse +9

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