Louisville @ Syracuse preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 5, 2018 ) Syracuse 78, Louisville 73

Its last time out, No. 22 Louisville avoided a third straight loss - albeit barely. The Cardinals would love to post a comfortable victory Wednesday when they visit Syracuse in an ACC clash.

The Cardinals lost at Florida State and at home versus Duke before sneaking past Clemson 56-55 in their most recent contest. Louisville led the Tigers by seven with 17 seconds to go before a series of errors created quite a bit of drama, not unlike the team's second-half meltdown against Duke. "Down the stretch again, we have to figure out ways to close games better," Louisville coach Chris Mack said. "I told our team mental errors and physical errors cannot be tolerated in winning time." As for Syracuse, the team has lost two of its last three and is hoping to avoid back-to-back defeats for the first time since mid-December.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (18-8, 9-4 ACC): The Cardinals got a strong performance against Clemson from Christen Cunningham (18 points, five assists), and it was a good thing because the other four starters shot a combined 8-of-29 from the field. The reserves shot a combined 4-of-7 from 3-point range, which could mean good news for Louisville against Syracuse's 2-3 zone, as the Cardinals' top seven scorers are all legitimate threats from outside the arc. Jordan Nwora, who leads Louisville in scoring (17.5 points per game), was 4-of-13 for 11 points with six turnovers in 31 minutes against Clemson.

ABOUT SYRACUSE (17-8, 8-4): The Orange have not been lighting it up over the previous six games, scoring 56, 77, 65, 62, 67 and 58 points. The team struggled with its shooting from the field (35 percent), the arc (5-of-25) and the foul line (11-of-22) in a 15-point defeat against North Carolina State its last time out. Leading scorer Tyus Battle, coming off a pair of strong outings, was limited to seven points in 32 minutes against the Wolfpack, and he failed to make a 3-pointer for the third time in the last four games.

TIP-INS

1. In his last six games, Orange F Elijah Hughes is shooting only 27.9 percent from the floor.

2. Syracuse G Frank Howard registered a team-high 21 points versus NC State after going 1-of-12 from the floor over the prior two contests.

3. Battle had 25 points in the lone matchup last season, a 78-73 road win for the Orange.

PREDICTION: Syracuse 64, Louisville 63