Syracuse prepares for its regular season versus Pittsburgh

Syracuse men’s basketball (15-15, 6-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) caps off the regular season as it plays host to Pittsburgh (11-19, 4-13 ACC) on Saturday on Senior Day. The Orange enter the game on a four game losing streak, their second of the season, after falling to Louisville 77-62 on Tuesday.

“We had a lot of shots, layups, we didn’t make. I thought that was the difference, second half we settled down and settled in a little more.” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said after the loss.

The Orange’s offense in the first half was abysmal. SU scored a season-low 21 points in the first half shooting 28 percent from the field. On the flip side, the Cardinals started fast and never looked back, they shot 35 percent from deep and handed the Orange their largest deficit at the break all season.

“In the first half, that deficit was the difference, we made a couple of those shots… I think the game could’ve been a little different” Autry said.

Despite trailing by a season-high 18 points at halftime the Orange clawed back in the second half. SU’s offense started to find its identity, shooting 50 percent from the field and from three. Guards Nate Kingz and Nait George both scored double digits in the second frame, the Orange cut the lead to 11 with just over five minutes to go, and SU outscored Louisville by three, but it was too little too late as the Cardinals first half lead was too tall of a mountain to climb. Louisville guards Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneely were nightmares from behind the arc for SU. Both players totaled 15 or more points and combined for 10 three pointers.

For Syracuse, three pointers have been nearly impossible to buy at times this season. After shooting 50 percent from three and nailing 13 three pointers in its last game, the Orange came out and missed their eleven straight threes and didn’t record a single make in the first half. SU connected on just four threes all game, a large part why Syracuse is third worst in the conference in three-point percentage at 33. Luckily for the Orange, their next opponent isn’t very good from deep too. Pittsburgh is also in the bottom of the ACC in three-point percentage shooting just above 33 percent. The Panthers struggled to score all over the floor as they ranked fourth worst in the conference in field goal percentage with 43 percent clip. On top of its poor offensive performance, Pitt is last in the conference in opponent field goal percentage. It has been a tough season for Pittsburgh. It has lost seven out of its nine games, sit near the bottom of the ACC with a 4-113 conference record, and have the second worst offense in the country.

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The last time these teams faced off was earlier this year and Syracuse took down Pitt 83-72 on the road. SU’s duo of Donnie Freeman and J.J. Starling torched the Panthers scoring a combined 41 points, nearly half of the team’s total, and shot over 62 percent from the field. Syracuse found its three-point rhythm in the win shooting 45 percent from deep with three different players connecting on numerous triples. For Pitt, the majority of its offense came off the bench from guard Brandin Cummings. The sophomore dropped a game-high 29 points on 11/17 from the field. Only two Panthers recorded double-digits in the first outing and expect Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry to put a point of emphasis and lock down Cummings.

The matchup is the last game for both squads of the regular season. Right now Pittsburgh would earn the 15 seed and Syracuse holds the 14 seed in the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Orange are 12-5 at home and aim to send-off its seniors (J.J. Starling, Nate Kingz, and William Kyle) with a victory in their final game inside the JMA Wireless Dome.