A new season best in three-pointers aids Syracuse in its win over Pittsburgh

It’s no secret offense hasn’t been Syracuse men’s basketball’s (11-5, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) strong suit, the third worst in the conference. But in its 83-72 win over Pittsburgh (7-9, 0-3 ACC), SU shot the lights out of the Petersen Events Center. The Orange nailed a season-best 45% of their three-pointers, knocking down a season-high ten triples.

“When we make ten threes, that’s a big difference on offense,” SU head coach Adrian Autry said. “We shared the ball, we moved it, and we’re going to continue to get better on that end.”

A big reason for the offensive barrage? Syracuse guard JJ Starling. The senior connected on a season-high three beyond-the-arc shots. Starling finished with 19 points, following up his eight-point performance on Tuesday in the win over Georgia Tech, where he didn’t make one three-pointer.

“I’m really proud of JJ Starling,” Autry said. “I thought he had a tremendous game. He really came out and set the tone for us.”

12 of Starling's points came in the first half on perfect 4/4 shooting.

He joins two other Orange players with a trio of trifectas in the win: Forwards Donnie Freeman and Tyler Betsey. Coach Autry credits Freeman’s return to the court as to why the three-ball has been hot for SU.

“Since we’ve got Donnie back, he’s a guy who can stretch the floor,” Autry said. “We were getting six or seven a game without him, now he’s a guy who’s capable of making three to five in a game, and today he was 3/6.”

Freeman’s three makes from beyond the arc is his season high. The Orange overall had their best shooting game of the year, improving on the league's second-worst three-point percentage.

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Syracuse can continue the upward trend on Tuesday against Florida State. The ACC clash starts at 9:00 p.m., tune into WAER’s McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 8:30.