Syracuse’s James Southerland Hopes to Continue Strong Tourney Performace, Could Produce Big Pay Day for Bettors

James Southerland wasn’t the biggest contributor to Syracuse’s stellar 2011-12 season, but he is certainly stepping it up in March.

The Syracuse forward doesn’t have the stats or profile fellow teammates Kris Joseph or Dion Waiters, but has been big when the Orange need him. Southerland dropped 15 points in each of Syracuse’s two tournament wins, averaging seven rebounds a game. That’s a big improvement over his 7.1 points per game and three rebounds per game that he averaged over the regular season.

Southerland has also been hot from downtown, hitting 5-of-7 3-point attempts during the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. His hot hand has caught the eyes of the folks at Bodava, who have a prop bet going to see if Southerland can keep the hot hand.

Bodava currently has a +180 payout if Southerland hits his first 3-pointer of the game and a -220 line if he misses. Syracuse will have all they can handle when they take on Wisconsin on Thursday night, so betters might want to keep an eye on Southerland to see if he can continue his breakout performance.