AM LEAVING ! JJ Traynor accepted a deal of $89.5 millions to depart from Louisville Today after…

One stat best summarizes the inconsistency that has plagued Louisville men’s basketball with Kenny Payne as its head coach.

The Cardinals (7-15, 2-9 ACC) have won back-to-back games only twice as we hit the home stretch of his second season at the helm.

They have a chance to make it three, and to secure their first conference winning streak of Payne’s tenure, on the road tonight against Syracuse (14-8, 5-6).

Led by first-year head coach Adrian Autry, the Orange has lost two in a row and five of its past nine.

Syracuse began the week 87th (+9.33) on KenPom.com’s adjusted efficiency rankings but sits among the bottom third of the ACC in points scored per 100 possessions (98, 14th) and points allowed per 100 possessions (108.6, 11th) during league play.

Judah Mintz is its player to watch. The 6-foot-4 sophomore guard entered the week tied for third in the conference in points per game (18.2) and assists (4.6).

He and sophomore forward Maliq Brown combine to average 4.1 steals per contest, helping the Orange rank among the top 40 teams across Division I in turnovers forced (14.8).

A U of L win would be its first at Syracuse since Feb. 13, 2017.

Here’s what you need to know to follow along from home.

Louisville is a 8.5-point underdog (-110) on DraftKings, which set the over-under at 155 points (-105 over, -115 under).

The money line odds are: U of L +320, Syracuse -410.

Score prediction: KenPom gives the Cards a 15% chance of winning and projects a score of 81-69 in Syracuse’s favor.

Bart Torvik is also forecasting an Orange victory (88%), with a projected score of 82-69.