Comcast Center - College Park, MD
Tip-off: Monday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Syracuse -3

After starting the year undefeated, No. 4 Syracuse has now lost two in a row and will look to snap that skid on Monday night when it heads to College Park to face Maryland.

The Orange's first loss of the season came Wednesday in overtime to ACC cellar dweller Boston College, and they followed that up with a narrow 66-60 road loss to Duke on Saturday. Starting with a one-point win against 13.5-point underdog NC State, Jim Boeheim’s squad has now lost three in a row. Syracuse is now 14-9 ATS overall and 8-6 ATS against ACC teams, with a 5-2 ATS mark on the road. The Terrapins enter this one having covered in four straight games (2-2 SU), most recently beating 9-point underdog Wake Forest 71-60 on Tuesday. In the game before that, they narrowly lost to Duke 69-67, covering a whopping 13.5-point spread. The Terrapins are 13-10 ATS overall this season, going 5-4 ATS at home and 8-6 ATS in the ACC. Syracuse is 2-0 (SU and ATS) in its past two meetings against the Terrapins, but the most recent of those was in 2008, an 88-72 decision in the Carrier Dome. Although road teams after 3+ straight ATS defeats facing a team with 3+ ATS wins are 115-74 ATS (61%) over the past five seasons, Maryland is 8-1 ATS in February home games in the past three seasons. However, the Orange are a miserable 1-8 ATS since 1997 when coming off two straight games of scoring 60 points or less, while the Terrapins are a poor 6-16 ATS coming off a win against a conference rival in the past three seasons.

Can Syracuse halt its losing skid on Monday night? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The StatFox Experts have been rolling in college basketball Best Bets this season with a 60% ATS (227-152-13) mark, including a hefty 62% ATS (195-118-7) record since Nov. 23. StatFox Brian is at 68% ATS (52-24-3) in Best Bets for the season, 87% ATS (20-3-2) since Jan. 17 and 73% ATS (45-17-2) since Nov. 26. StatFox Dave is 61% ATS (47-30-1) for the season and 67% ATS (30-15) since Dec. 18, while StatFox Zach is 55% ATS (41-33-4) on Best Bets this season, including 57% ATS (35-26-3) since Nov. 22. StatFox Scott is 58% ATS (44-32-3) for the season and 60% ATS (34-23-3) since Dec. 2, while StatFox Gary is 57% ATS (43-33-2) for the season, and 61% ATS (37-24) since Nov. 29.

Syracuse has far from the most intimidating offense in the nation this season, averaging 69.2 PPG (238th in Div. I) on 44.6% shooting (159th in nation) with 12.5 APG (199th in Div. I). The team has not topped 60 points in five straight games, averaging a miserable 58.0 PPG on 38.3% FG during this stretch. However, the Orange make up for it on the defensive end, where they hold opponents to 58.6 PPG (7th in nation) on 40.8% FG and 34.2% threes. The backcourt has been at the center of the team’s recent offensive struggles, with freshman PG Tyler Ennis (11.7 PPG, 5.7 APG, 3.4 RPG, 2.1 SPG) shooting just 31% from the field (2-of-11 threes) over the team's past five contests. He went 2-for-13 FG in Syracuse’s loss to Duke, but still had four steals, four rebounds and six assists, marking the ninth straight game of at least five helpers. For the season, Ennis has a terrific 3.6 Ast/TO ratio. SG Trevor Cooney (13.0 PPG) is usually lights out from beyond the arc, hitting 41.4% of his threes, but is just 1-for-9 from long range in the team’s two losses. SF C.J. Fair (16.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG) is the team’s leading scorer and was at the center of a controversial call to end the Duke game, when he was whistled for a charge and his head coach Jim Boeheim was subsequently ejected. Fair remains the team's lone consistent force on offense, scoring in double-figures in all but two games this season, averaging 16.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG during his team's two-game losing skid. He’s joined on the block by PF Jerami Grant (12.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG), the team’s top rebounder, who was a bright spot against Duke with 17 points (8-of-15 FG) and eight rebounds before fouling out.

Maryland’s defense is not nearly as stingy as Syracuse’s, giving up 68.5 PPG (128th in nation) on 42.4% shooting and 35.3% threes. Offensively, the Terps average 71.8 PPG (162nd in Div. I) on 43.9% shooting (209th in nation) with 12.0 APG (235th in Div. I). The best part about the offense is its balance, with five players averaging double-figure points. SG Dez Wells (14.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG) leads the charge, playing a swing role in the offense. He scored in double-figures for 10 straight games before being held to six points (2-of-8 FG) in Tuesday's win over Wake Forest. PG Seth Allen (12.0 PPG, 3.2 APG) is the team’s top passer and has averaged 21.0 PPG (9-of-19 threes) in his past two home games, including a 32-point barrage versus Florida State on Feb. 8. Junior SG Nick Faust (10.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG) has been red-hot in his past three games with a 57% FG clip, and scored a team-high 20 points (4-of-7 threes) with four assists in Tuesday's victory. Sophomore swingman Jake Layman (12.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG) can also threaten from the perimeter, hitting 40% of his threes this season, including 4-of-7 in the team’s past two games leading to 14.5 PPG. Junior SF Evan Smotrycz (11.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG) is cut from the same cloth as Layman, hitting 1.7 treys per game on a 35% clip, though he is just 2-for-19 from long range in his past four contests. Smotrycz and sophomore PF Charles Mitchell (7.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG) will have a busy day down low, trying to protect the glass from Grant and Fair. Mitchell has been looking for his offense more recently with 12.0 PPG on 12-of-23 FG in his past two games.