Syracuse Basketball: Buddy Boeheim lifts SU to win over Pitt in ACC Tournament

Syracuse basketball freshman Buddy Boeheim led the Orange to a HUGE win over the Pitt Panthers in the ACC Tournament. Here’s how it happened.

The Syracuse basketball squad faced a high level of adversity before the game started vs Pitt in the ACC Tournament. Despite that, the Orange overcame that to deliver a massive win, here’s how it went down.

In an absolute shocker a few hours before the game it was revealed that Syracuse basketball star Tyus Battle would not play in the Syracuse vs Pitt game on Wednesday evening in the ACC Tournament. This was the first time Tyus Battle has EVER missed a game in an Orange uniform, talk about durability.

Battle had an awkward fall vs Clemson where he landed on his hip and back. He laid on the court for a while and when he eventually got up was walking around very gingerly. So there are two things here, either Tyus Battle could play but Syracuse is playing it safe looking ahead to the tournament. Or our worst fears are realized and Battle couldn’t go and Syracuse is in some serious trouble without their star.

Either way that’s something we can worry about in the future. What about the present in this game vs Pitt? Well, we suggested near the beginning of the season that perhaps the Orange didn’t need Tyus Battle anymore?

You can check out the full column here, but the gist of the argument was about the depth Syracuse has. Last season the Orange NEEDED Tyus to dominate or they lost. This season on paper it seemed they didn’t need Tyus to be that guy every night.

Well, that depth has been a lot better this season, but it hasn’t quite lived up to the hype on a consistent basis. For the Orange to move on to the third round of the ACC Tournament

I’ll be honest it was weird not seeing Tyus Battle out there, but SU fans better get used to it because that will be the reality next year and moving forward.

Speaking of reality, Jim Boeheim has often said that Battle is the only player on his team that can drive to the rim consistently. That seemed evident in Battle’s absence early in the game with so many complacent jump shots the SU team was settling for.

The good thing is when you convert the long ball you can start increasing that mojo offensively.

But early in the first half foul trouble was occurring for both teams but specifically Syracuse with their two big men Bourama Sidibe and Paschal Chukwu racking up two fouls each.

Throughout the first half Syracuse experienced offensive lulls. That has been happening with Tyus Battle in the lineup, without him in it, it was even more painful.

Elijah Hughes nailed a four-point play with just over six minutes remaining in the first half which brought the game to 26-22

Jalen Carey finally got an opportunity in the game and per usual he started off a bit sloppy and reckless. But you saw his potential when he was in the open court and got to the rim.

Which helped lead to a 7-0 run at the end of the half to bring this game within three with under a minute remaining. But a sloppy rebound near the end of the half gave Pitt an additional opportunity which they converted into three points and Jim Boeheim was fuming at the end of the first stanza.

First-half takeaways: 

• Syracuse horrible offensively. Can’t drive, settling for jumpers and the result was a: 10-of-29 performance from the field.
• Jared Wilson-Frame 6-of-9 from the field (also downtown) dropping 18 points in the first half. SU knew that Jared was the lone threat from beyond the arc that could hurt the Orange and despite seeing that in scouting report weren’t able to adjust.
• SU didn’t attempt their first free throw until 6:49 in the first half. Finished 4-of-5, while Pitt was a nifty 10-for-10.
• 3 pointers SU vs Pitt:
  • Pitt shot 60 percent from deep (6-of-10)
  • SU shot a woeful 37.5 percent (6-of-16)

Second half

Elijah Hughes after scoring a donut in the regular season finale vs Clemson really stepped up to the plate in Battle’s absence. He got his 15th point of the game early in the second stanza.

Then a DEEP Buddy Boeheim three gave Syracuse their first lead since 16:28 in the first half: 40-39. Fast-forward a few seconds later, Buddy followed it up with another DEEP three to put Syracuse up four.

But it’s not just Buddy, Hughes was supposed to be the guy for Syracuse this season and he has looked exceptional throughout this game. In a very weird exchange, Hughes had a rebound, lost it, slipped, tried to get it back, slipped again. It seemed like he came up gimpy, but he powered through.

While Buddy Boeheim in his first ACC Tournament game ever looked like a seasoned vet out there. From drilling deep threes to converting and one plays, to getting it in the lane, super impressive.

Which led to a 17-4 run in the last six and half minutes for Orange with under 12 left in the game. Syracuse continued to take control down the stretch with clutch three-point shooting, some great defense, and overall veteran savvy. Syracuse ended up winning this one 73-59.

Final takeaways: 

• In the first half, the Orange looked dead in the water. No offensive creativity and the team didn’t seem in it. Somehow the second half pep speech by Jim Boeheim or Tyus Battle rallied the troops to an emotional second half performance.
• Trey McGowens after dropping 26 points to lead the team vs Boston College, only mustered three points vs the Orange.
• Also after Jared Wilson-Frame went off for 18 points in the first half, he was held to just six points in the second stanza.
• Paschal Chukwu was an enforcer on the defensive end (six blocks), made his free throws (3-for-3), and simply held down the fort on the inside (nine boards).
• Buddy Boeheim a career-high (20 points) in the biggest game of his career. He has a pure stroke and a bright future in Orange.
• To reiterate Tyus Battle missing this game vs Pitt was the first time he’s ever missed a game in an Orange uniform. Incredible durability from SU’s biggest star.

Up next Syracuse continues their tour through the ACC Tournament. After sweeping Pittsburgh this season, the Orange now have to try to beat Duke twice in a single season. This one tips off at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday evening in the third round of the ACC Tournament.