Syracuse Basketball vs. Pittsburgh: 5 Takeaways

Nov 27, 2015; Paradise Island, BAHAMAS; Syracuse Orange players celebrate winning the championship against the Texas A&M Aggies in the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis championship game in the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Resort. Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

This Team Can Beat or Lose to Anyone

I realize that was a lot of negativity, but really I’m just trying to be honest. Two of the biggest flaws of this team are fundamentals that can be fixed with practice. This season isn’t a lost cause, but unless some drastic changes are made, it soon will be.

With that said, last night also proved something positive for Syracuse fans. This team can truly beat anyone if they get hot. Even with how horribly they shot from the line and how awful they rebounded, they were still in this game and could have easily won it.

They didn’t even shoot it particularly well from three, and were still in the game. Pitt might not be Duke or Virginia, but they are no slouch and always seem to have SU’s number. We hung with them, and we can hang with just about anyone.

If this team can somehow find a way to plug the Niagara Falls-esque torrent of offensive rebounds they give up and hit at a 75-80% clip from the free throw line, they will win a lot of games. If they continue to play how they have been, it will be a tough challenge just making the NCAA tournament.

Next: SU Basketball: Behind the Numbers, Top 25 Edition

Time will tell how this will unfold. I’m not incredibly optimistic right now since they haven’t shown any improvement in either category, but there is still time. Let’s just hope they realize this and try their best to remedy their faults.

That’s all we can really ask as fans.

The Syracuse basketball team’s next game is this Saturday, on the road against #13 Miami. Talk about a brutal start to the conference schedule. Check back later in the week for a game preview and some more analysis on the team.