(3%) SYRACUSE FIRST HALF. This line climbed from its opening number. In what will likely be a close game, that's helping to provide excellent value with a Syracuse team which is currently flying a bit under the radar. The Orange are 3-1 SU on the season and the only loss came by two points. One of their wins came by three points and the other two were blowout victories. In both of the blowout wins, the Orange very narrowly missed covering the big number. So, they're 1-3 ATS but could easily be 3-1. Despite coming up short at the betting window, last week's blowout win over Holy Cross was important for the Orange to get healthy and get rid of the bad taste after the tough and disappointing loss the previous week. Admittedly, the Rebels have been playing well. Their strong start, combined with people being down on Syracuse, has worked in our favor. The Rebels didn't let distractions affect them last week but that doesn't mean that they won't catch up to them this week. This is a very experienced Syracuse team, one which brought back 18 starters from last season. They're 4-0 ATS their last four non-conference road games, winning the last three outright. I expect the Orange to come out strong and am backing them for the first half.  *good at +3 or better