Syracuse basketball versus Pittsburgh could get ugly – first to 44 wins?

Syracuse basketball may prove a bit rusty on Wednesday against Pittsburgh.

Syracuse basketball will only have had a few full practices leading up to its Atlantic Coast Conference clash at home versus Pittsburgh on Wednesday in the late afternoon.

On the Panthers’ side, its roster is expected to be without several scholarship players inside the Carrier Dome, including excellent sophomore forward Justin Champagnie, per media reports.

So with a short-handed Pitt squad, and an Orange team that hasn’t competed in a game since mid-December, when it beat Buffalo in overtime, it wouldn’t surprise me if this conference contest is far from a thing of beauty.

As it is, over the years, these former Big East Conference rivals and current ACC foes have suited up in some quite physical encounters. Combining that physicality with what both the ‘Cuse and the Panthers (5-2) are dealing with may be a recipe for a low-scoring affair with a sizable amount of turnovers.

Then again, until these guys step out on the court, who knows what will happen. Much like other Syracuse basketball fanatics out there, I just want to see my beloved Orange (6-1) play an official game.

Let’s dive into some statistics as Syracuse basketball hosts Pitt.

During Jamie Dixon’s tenure as the head coach of Pittsburgh, he had success against the ‘Cuse. However, more recently, the Orange has won seven in a row in this series and owns an all-time edge over the Panthers of 73-45, according to orangehoops.org.

Syracuse basketball was supposed to welcome Florida State to town on Jan. 6, however, a positive Covid-19 test within the Seminoles program resulted in that meeting getting postponed, and Pitt traveling to Central New York instead.

The Orange is No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings as of Tuesday afternoon, whereas the Panthers are No. 76. Pitt, though, does possess solid road victories over Northwestern and Miami. The Panthers’ setbacks are to Saint Francis University (PA) and Louisville.

Wednesday’s bout between the ‘Cuse and Pitt is slated to begin at 4:30 pm, with television coverage provided by the ACC Network. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index says that Syracuse basketball is a big favorite, with a 79.9 percent chance to prevail.

Yet I say throw the odds out the window when these two squads face off. The Panthers will come ready for an all-out ACC battle, without question.

After missing several weeks of action due to a knee injury, senior center Bourama Sidibe is expected to dress versus Pitt. Hopefully, Sidibe gets a bit of run.

The Orange scores way more points per game than the Panthers, although Pittsburgh has a solid defense. A lot of statistical categories among these groups are fairly even, including rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, turnovers committed, field-goal percentage and 3-point field-goal percentage.

To me, the ‘Cuse should come out on top, but the team will have to take care of the ball well, avoid careless mistakes, crash the boards and, naturally, hit some shots.