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You don't often see teams that have lost six of their past seven games favored against opponents. That, however, is the case in this weekend's matchup.
Pitt not only enters the game as the favorite, but is a big one. Despite the Panthers' down season, as of Friday morning, Pitt was a 7 1/2-point favorite in the game. The line opened up at eight points in the Panthers' favor but has dropped ever so slightly.
While Pitt has lost six out of seven, the Orange have been even worse, losing seven of their past eight.
It could be argued that the spread is too high, but as I wrote in Monday's preview, the Orange have had a difficult time keeping games close. Syracuse has lost by an average of 14.9 points per game this year and their only wins have come against Wake Forest (the ACC's worst team), FCS Villanova, and Central Michigan. In addition, in the battles against common opponent Duke, Pitt played much better against the Blue Devils than Syracuse did.
When you consider all of that, Pitt being favored in this one just seems to make sense.
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