The Syracuse basketball squad picked up a solid road victory against BC on Wednesday, but it has a hefty challenge waiting in Pittsburgh.
The SU hoops outfit will culminate its three-affair trip outside of Central New York this Saturday evening versus Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center. A butt-kicking at the hands of then-No. 10 Virginia Tech last weekend forced the ‘Cuse to regroup, and its response amounted to a six-point triumph at Boston College a few days ago.
Despite junior wing Tyus Battle pouring in 31 points against the Eagles, freshman guard Buddy Boeheim adding 13, and the team as a whole connecting on a marvelous 55.8 percent from the field, head coach Jim Boeheim voiced his displeasure of the crew’s performance.
In a nutshell, Boeheim said that the Syracuse roster didn’t rebound well, missed way too many shots around the rim, and put forth a poor defensive effort. While any success away from the Carrier Dome is positive, I won’t disagree with JB’s assessment.
SU (15-6, 6-2), which has won eight of 10, is hovering around the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, and its 4-1 true road mark significantly pads its Big Dance resume. However, the gauntlet of the Orange’s schedule lurks on the horizon, as after its tilt with the Panthers (12-9, 2-6), the ‘Cuse faces five schools currently in the AP top-25 poll over a span of six contests.
Yikes. Keeping that in mind, while Pitt has dropped four in a row and isn’t exactly crushing it in the rugged ACC, Syracuse must remain locked-in on both ends of the floor if it hopes to notch another victory on its opponent’s own turf. There are numerous facets of the game’s broader picture which I believe SU has to improve upon to best the Panthers and, moving forward, hang tough with the league’s elite. Let’s have a look.