Those who bet on March Madness have to hand it to Syracuse. Many online betting fans wrote them off as “tired” entering March Madness betting because of their potentially draining six-overtime win over UConn in the Big East tournament. But the Orange have silenced those critics, winning each of their first round matchups relatively easily (by 10 or more points) and advancing to the Sweet 16 odds.

Sports betting sharps have a few important questions for the Orange right now. First, were they tested enough in the first two rounds? The breezed past Stephen F. Austin and Arizona State on the strength of their high-octane, spread-out offense. Standout guard Jonny Flynn leads a group featuring five guys who averaged double-figures during the regular season. Even if Sweet 16 opponent Oklahoma keys on Flynn, the Orange can hurt the Sooners in other ways.

The second big question is whether or not Syracuse can contain Blake Griffin. The powerful Griffin, who is the consensus top player in the March Madness odds, averaged 30.5 points and 15 boards in the first two rounds. The Sooners go as he go, meaning Syracuse should prevail if they can slow Griffin down. Obviously, that’s a huge “if.” Based on what the Orange have shown over the last several weeks, they have the toughness and size to get their noses dirty against Griffin. Bet on the deeper, more versatile Syracuse to beat Oklahoma. Even if Griffin goes off, Syracuse‘s distributed offense can match whatever he does.

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