The Big East farewell tour continues on Monday night for Syracuse as the Orange have their final scheduled meeting with Marquette, although it’s very possible these two could meet in the Big East semifinals or championship game. Syracuse-Marquette isn’t a storied rivalry that is causing talking heads to wax poetic about its end like Saturday’s Syracuse-Georgetown matchup, the Hoyas’ final trip to the Carrier Dome. That’s not to say this game isn’t important.

Of course, the Orange are off to the Atlantic Coast Conference in July, while Marquette will be leaving either next season or the following one with its Catholic basketball-only playing brethren from the Big East for a yet-named new conference. The departure of those Catholic schools can largely be traced to SU and Pitt leaving for the ACC, which begat a new raid on the Big East.

Syracuse at Marquette Betting Story Lines

Both the Orange and Golden Eagles will drop from their current spots of No. 8 and No. 17 in the Associated Press Poll, respectively, on Monday. SU (22-5, 10-4) lost that hyped game with Georgetown on Saturday, 57-46, in front of an NCAA on-campus record crowd and on a day the school retired the jersey of Carmelo Anthony. Syracuse, which was a 7.5-point favorite, couldn’t slow likely Big East Player of the Year Otto Porter as the Hoyas’ star had a career-high 33 points, which was only three points less than SU’s top three scorers managed. Porter was 12-of-19 from the field, while his teammates were 7-for-35. For some reason, SU never much got out of its vaunted 2-3 zone even though Porter kept finding himself open.

It was the fewest points SU has ever scored at the Carrier Dome as it was held to 34 percent shooting (17-for-50) and just 4-for-20 from long range. Syracuse had won 11 straight games in the regular season against ranked teams overall, tied for the longest in the nation. The loss snapped Syracuse’s national-best and school-record 38-game home winning streak in the dome, and it was fitting that it happened against Georgetown. The Hoyas also ended SU’s school-record 57-game home winning streak at the old Manley Field House 33 years prior (the final game there). GU also was the last team to beat SU prior to this current winning streak.

The win gave Georgetown a one-game lead atop the Big East over Syracuse and Marquette because the Golden Eagles (19-7, 10-4) also lost Saturday, 60-57 at Villanova, a huge win for the Wildcats’ at-large NCAA Tournament hopes. Junior Cadougan was the only Marquette player in double figures with 12 points. Leading scorer Vander Blue was held to seven points. The Golden Eagles, who were two-point dogs, turned the ball over 19 times.

Coach Buzz Williams made a pretty public statement with the team’s second-leading scorer this season, sixth man Davante Gardner (11.6 ppg). He had just two points Saturday on 1-for-4 from the field and played only 11 minutes because, Williams said afterward, "he played really bad."  Williams has done a terrific job this season as not a whole lot was expected of Marquette after losing stars Jae Crowder, the 2011-12 Big East Player of the Year, and Darius Johnson-Odom off last year’s Sweet 16 team.

The Orange could get a bit of a boost here with the potential return of freshman center Dajuan Coleman. He returned to practice on Thursday after missing six games due to knee surgery but didn’t play against the Hoyas. He went through warm-ups, but Coach Jim Boeheim said he wanted Coleman to have more practice time before playing in a game. That could come Monday. The 6-foot-9 Coleman started the first 20 games of the season for the Orange, averaging 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds.

SU and Marquette haven’t played this season. This one is important not only to stay on the heels of Georgetown (Hoyas split with Marquette this year and host Syracuse to close the regular season) for the potential Big East regular-season title but also to stay in the Top 4 in the conference for a first-round double-bye in the Big East Tournament. One thing working in both schools’ favor is that UConn is ineligible for postseason play and it is lurking right outside the Top 4.

Syracuse at Marquette College Basketball Betting Odds and Key Trends

At BetOnline, Syracuse is a 1.5-point favorite with the total listed at 132. The Orange are 14-9 ATS (4-4 on road) and 10-11 “over/under” (5-3 on road). The Golden Eagles are 11-11 ATS (5-5 at home) and 11-10 O/U (6-4 at home).

Syracuse is 5-2 ATS in its past seven after a loss. Marquette is 9-2 ATS in its past 11 after an ATS loss. It is 4-0 ATS in its past four home games vs. teams with a winning road record. The under is 4-1 in SU’s past five after a loss. The over is 8-2 in Marquette’s past 10 after a loss. The over is 6-1 in MU’s past seven home games vs. teams with a winning road record. The road team has covered four of the past five meetings.

Syracuse at Marquette Picks and Betting Predictions

Syracuse leads the all-time series with Marquette 8-4 and beat the Golden Eagles by seven at the Carrier Dome last year in the lone meeting. Marquette has just one win in conference play over SU as a Big East member, coming at home on Jan. 29, 2011. The Golden Eagles also beat Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament that year.

Since an upset win at No. 1 Louisville, Syracuse has lost three of four on the road, and that lone victory was at a really bad Seton Hall team that had a nine-point lead in the first half against the Orange. Marquette, meanwhile, is 14-0 at home this year and has beaten ranked teams Georgetown and Pitt (plus good but unranked at time Wisconsin and UConn clubs) in Milwaukee. I believe Syracuse is the better overall team and would win this matchup at a neutral site, but take Marquette at home and the over.

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Read more articles by Alan Matthews