Syracuse gets rolled 99-82 in the Steel City

Syracuse Men’s Basketball (16-13, 9-9) dropped its third straight game in a 99-82 evisceration against Pittsburgh. (21-8, 14-4). Despite only coming out of the halftime break up four points, Pitt dissected the Cuse’s 2-3 zone and shot 63.6% from the floor, and knocked down 55% of three-pointers in the final 20 minutes of the contest.

“[In] the first half, [the defense] was pretty good. We were getting to their shooters by them getting off balance.”” Head Coach Jim Boeheim said postgame. “Once we started pressing…we were gonna give up open shots, and that's what happens...you just have to make that decision.”

Welcome to the Oakland Zoo

In a sold out Petersen Events Center, Syracuse got off to a poor start. As boos rained from all over for Head Coach Jim Boeheim and former Pitt commit Judah Mintz, the Panthers grabbed an early 9-2 advantage. Nelly Cummings, who knocked down six 3-pointers and posted 22 points against SU in December, made two open three-point opportunities. Syracuse would keep the Panther faithful at bay, thanks to 12 points from Joe Girard III and 11 points from Benny Williams, and even take the lead for three minutes of the first frame.

In the first half, Jeff Capel’s squad shot 31.4% (11-for-35) from the floor and just 23.8% (5-for-21) from three-point range. SU let Pitt keep this game close because of an inability to grab offensive rebounds. The Panthers scored 15 second chance points on 12 offensive boards. Federiko Federiko (nine rebounds) and Jamarius Burton (six rebounds) both pulled down four early rebounds on the offensive end .

“There were some plays in the first half, we had an opportunity to get on the floor.”” Head Coach Jeff Capel said in his postgame press conference. “Even early in the second half where we had an opportunity…that we didn't do a good job there. But for the most part, I thought we did a really good job of playing hard.”

Ultimately, Syracuse would fall behind before the break on a late foul by Symir Torrence in the waning seconds of the first half. This resulted in three free throws for Cummings, who would give Pitt a 37-33 advantage at the end of 20 minutes.

The 2-3 Zone Bites the Dust (Again)

Pittsburgh came out of the half firing on all cylinders. The Panthers made three of their first five three-point attempts to gain a 10-point lead. With 14 minutes left, the scorching-hot Cummings finished a four-point play to give Pitt a 57-45 lead. Every Orange run was countered with a more impressive Panthers run.

After SU’s Quadir Copeland made a layup after the under-16 stoppage, Nike Sibande nearly toppled the Petersen Events Center's roof with a lob slam off an inbounds play. A couple minutes later, Sibande added a three-pointer to offset a Jesse Edwards three-point play and put the Panthers back up by a double-digit scoring advantage. Syracuse would get within nine points at the 8:33 mark thanks to a Judah Mintz three, but Pitt’s Greg Elliott (5-for-6 from 3-point range) responded with a three-pointer, and the Panthers went on an 8-0 run capped off by Blake Hinson’s sixth three ball of the game.

Pitt scored a season-high 62 points in the second half; tied for fifth most points ever in program history.

Along Came Benny

On 8-15 shooting from the floor and 5-6 from three, the sophomore kept Syracuse close with Pittsburgh for a majority of the first half, at least in the offensive realm. This marked the forward’s highest-scoring outing since the Orange’s loss to Colgate back in November (17 Points).

“I decided that we're gonna go with Benny…[Pittsburgh’s] gonna let him shoot and he's shooting well, [and] we need somebody else to score.” Coach Boeheim said postgame. “And he can make that shot. He's improved his shooting. It definitely helps our offense.”

The Panthers recorded a season-high 27 assists; nineteen of those assists came on 21 made field goals after the break. Six different Panthers reached double figures in scoring. This also was the third straight game Syracuse’s opponent shot over 47% from the field.

Syracuse begins its final slate of home games next Tuesday when it hosts Georgia Tech (12-17, 4-14). The Yellow Jackets last faced the Orange just over a month ago in Atlanta, and fell 80-63. Game time for SU and GT is slated for 7:00 on Tuesday. WAER’s coverage begins with McClurg Team Countdown to Tipoff at 6:30