No. 8 Syracuse takes on No. 9 Baylor to close out March Madness Round 1, Day 1 with a late tipoff Thursday on truTV (9:57 p.m.). Coming off a loss to Duke in last week’s ACC Tournament, Jim Boeheim and the Orange will try to return to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, but the Bears stand in their way in the opening round in Salt Lake City, Utah.

• Printable NCAA bracket: Complete 2019 March Madness field
Syracuse-Baylor line:
This late-night battle of zone defenses may put a few weary March Madness fans to sleep, but the point spread projects a nail-biter. Sharps favored Syracuse at the opener of -1¹/₂.
The market then fluctuated around -2 and -2¹/₂ before returning to -1¹/₂ Thursday afternoon.
The Bears are 13-11-2 against the spread this season, but every half-point matters in expected close games.