Syracuse Basketball: Orange has solid all-around effort in Pitt victory

Syracuse basketball continues to fare fairly well on the road in Atlantic Coast Conference play, as the Orange destroyed Pittsburgh on Wednesday evening.

After a somewhat slow start, Syracuse basketball went on full throttle to crush Pittsburgh on Wednesday night from the Petersen Events Center. The Orange’s 72-49 domination gave the ‘Cuse the 2019-20 regular-season sweep of the Panthers.

Additionally, Syracuse (16-12, 9-8) has now won seven in a row versus Pittsburgh (15-14, 6-12), and the Orange leads the overall series against its long-time rival, 73-45.

At this juncture, the ‘Cuse is tied with Notre Dame for fifth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Syracuse has three affairs left in the regular stanza, and it’s certainly possible that the Orange could wind up with a solid seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament, assuming the ‘Cuse keeps on triumphing.

Against the Panthers, Syracuse won the battle in virtually every statistical category. The Orange beat Pittsburgh in rebounding, assists, blocks, steals, and turnovers committed, although the ‘Cuse did cough up 15 of its own miscues, which is way too many.

Early on, Syracuse couldn’t hit anything from 3-point land, but ultimately the Orange connected on a respectable 36.4 percent from deep, 46.4 percent from the field as a whole, and a gross 63.2 percent from the charity stripe.

The Panthers, on the flip side, really struggled to make shots. Pittsburgh went for 29.1 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc, along with an impressive 78.6 percent from the free-throw line.

Obviously, we’re all concerned about the status of sophomore guard Buddy Boeheim, who sprained his ankle in the Panthers’ encounter. In relief, freshman guard Brycen Goodine did a fantastic job.

Speaking of stellar, redshirt junior forward Elijah Hughes better end up on the All-ACC first crew. This stud generated 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals versus Pittsburgh. On the year to date, Hughes is averaging a league-best 18.8 points per game, as well as 5.1 boards and 3.7 dimes.

Last but not least, junior center Bourama Sidibe possessed a tremendous performance, notching 13 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and four blocks. If Sidibe can tally production like that on a more routine basis, it will provide a massive boost for the ‘Cuse, which next will host North Carolina this Saturday.