With little margin for error at this point, Syracuse cannot afford a loss to last-place Louisville when the Atlantic Coast Conference foes collide Saturday night on the Cardinals’ home court.
The Orange (19-10, 10-8 ACC) need all the wins they can get in order to sneak into the NCAA Tournament discussion over the next couple of weeks. They have won three games in a row for the first time this calendar year and are looking to sweep the season series from the lowly Cardinals (8-20, 3-14).
The first matchup between the teams was surprisingly competitive, as Syracuse needed a career-high 30 points from Chris Bell and a late bucket from Quadir Copeland to escape with a 94-92 home victory.
“It wasn’t perfect, but this is more about these guys not giving up and just pulling out a win,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said after the Feb. 7 contest.
That game ignited a 5-2 stretch for the Orange, who most recently knocked off Virginia Tech 84-71 behind 29 points from Judah Mintz. For the third straight game, Syracuse held a big lead before holding on down the stretch.
“I just wanted to show that I’m one of the best point guards in the country. I wanted to be one of the best players,” said Mintz, who leads Syracuse with 18.6 points per game. “Whether somebody sees me as that or not, that’s what I’m trying to prove every time I step on the court.”
Louisville has three talented guards of its own in Skyy Clark (13.2 ppg), Tre White (13.1) and Mike James (12.9). In the team’s 84-59 loss to Duke on Wednesday, White led the way with 15 points, while Clark had 10 points and four assists.
White chipped in three rebounds, but Cardinals coach Kenny Payne said afterwards that he has challenged his 6-foot-7 guard to get double-digit boards.
“I’ll just tell you what I told him in the locker room: ‘You are a very good basketball player. You have to will us to win,'” said Payne, whose team has dropped four games in a row.
–Field Level Media