Syracuse men’s basketball (11-5, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) travels to take on ACC foe Pittsburgh (10-6, 1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) on Tuesday.
The Orange and Panthers met back in 3-1-5 on December 31. Thanks to a second-half push SU was able to get the win 81-73. The story of that game was the production from SU’s bench.
“Especially in the second half their bench was tremendous," Panthers head coach Jeff Capel said. Syracuse managed to get a season-high 52 points from its backups.
“We had a level of aggression to fight and get back in,” head coach Adrian Autry exclaimed. “That's a good team, they have a lot of guards that can shoot,” Autry said. I thought we just thought we kinda settled in and defended and rebounded the ball.”
One of those key players off the bench was forward Maliq Brown. The sophomore scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 31 minutes. Brown has continued that great play throughout the season. The forward has scored at least 15 points in four of the last five games.
The sophomore has also stepped up on the defensive end. With center Naheem McLeod injured Brown has risen to the challenge of replacing the 7’4 transfer. The Virginia Native held Boston College center Quinten Post to 0 points last week Wednesday. Post currently ranks top 10 in scoring in the ACC.
LISTEN: @Cuse_MBB Forward Maliq Brown made his presence felt in his first start at center with a big time rejection. @JoePuccio_ painted the picture of the sophomore's block. pic.twitter.com/4NV5hQ6o9x
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) January 11, 2024
Brown will most likely draw another tough defensive assignment come Tuesday. The sophomore will most likely be matched up against Panthers forward Blake Hinson. The senior is averaging over 18 points a game and ranks 4th in the conference when it comes to scoring. The 6’8 forward was held to 3-12 shooting when the teams last met in December.
Brown also hopes to remain aggressive on offense. The Panthers were recently outscored 32-12 in the paint by 11th-ranked Duke.
WAER coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff. SU and Pitt tip off at 7:00 p.m.