Posted at 11:15 AM EST odds are subject to change.

Pinnacle   +6 -110 BET365  +6 -110  SportsInteraction  +6 -112  888Sport +6 -110

Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Streaming: ACC Network

Syracuse +6 over Pittsburgh

5:00 PM EST. Pitt are winners of eight of its last 10, and now the Panthers control their destiny when it comes to the ACC regular season title. Pitt still has three games to play, but if it wins out and knocks off Miami along the way, the Panthers will be the #1 seed in the ACC tournament. Last time out, the Panthers knocked off Georgia Tech by eight (76-68). That win over the Yellow Jackets was a monumental one for the Panthers, as it was the first time the program has posted 20 wins in a season since 2015-16.

We can’t predict how the ACC will match up with the rest of the big boys in the NCAA Tournament, but if the Panthers are what is considered to be near the top of that class this season, it might be a rough March. Of the top three teams in the ACC at the moment, which includes #6 Virginia, #13 Miami, and Pitt, none are ranked inside of the top 25 when it comes to the goods under the hood. For some perspective, over at KenPom, Virginia is #33, Miami is #28, and Pitt is #59. See how superficial polls influence the market and create a false reality. Just remember the reporters and the coaches that vote in those polls barely watch the games and generally have no idea what is going on. Case in point is the inflated value of the ACC.

Syracuse is in the middle of the pack in the ACC, but they are much closer to the top teams than their standing would have you believe. The Orange are on a two-game losing streak, but those losses came to Clemson and Duke, so it’s not like we’re talking about the dregs of the conference. Motivation should not be an issue here for the Orange, as they currently sit ninth in the ACC, which is the cutoff point for a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Syracuse is 1½ games up on Boston College and three games up on the Hokies with three games to play. The Orange’s magic number to secure that first-round bye is two. The price today suggests the Orange are in a position to close that gap to one with a win here. We’ll put these points in our back pockets and hope we won’t need them.

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