Heading into Wednesday night's matchup, Syracuse had won eight of its past nine games and looked like one of the hottest teams in the country, while Louisville had lost two of their past three since announcing their self-imposed postseason ban as a result of an alleged recruiting scandal. However, the roles appeared to be reversed during Syracuse's crushing 72-58 defeat, as it was the Orange who looked like the team with nothing to play for, getting outscored 50-20 in the paint.
Despite looking lost offensively during last year's meeting, losing 69-59, Louisville had no trouble this time around against Syracuse's 2-3 zone, easily using their decisive size advantage to work their way inside.