Syracuse basketball, long-time rival Pittsburgh polar opposites this season

Syracuse basketball, after a tough Atlantic Coast Conference road tour last week in which it lost twice by a combined four points, returns to the Hill for its next three league games, and hopefully, the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome will propel the Orange to some triumphs.

In totality, the ‘Cuse is mired in a three-affair losing streak, if you include a five-point setback to Virginia in Central New York on New Year’s Day. That means the Orange has lost three in a row by a combined nine points.

Up next for Syracuse basketball is an ACC encounter on Tuesday night with long-time rival Pittsburgh. To date in the 2021-22 stanza, the Orange (7-8, 1-3) and the Panthers (6-9, 1-3) are two of the worst squads in league competition.

Pitt did grab a home win during its most recent contest, knocking off Boston College by two points. The Panthers have also defeated teams including St. John’s and Colgate, a group that crushed the ‘Cuse earlier in the 2021-22 term.

While Pittsburgh does have a few head-scratching setbacks, much like the Orange, the Panthers have also fought tough in several match-ups. For example, Pitt fell by one point to Minnesota, Virginia and Notre Dame, as well as to Louisville on the road by three points.

Syracuse basketball will face a pretty stingy Pittsburgh defense.

Whereas the ‘Cuse has had issues with its zone defense throughout 2021-22, it appears that the Panthers’ primary struggles this season are on the offensive end of the floor.

Per ESPN statistics, Pittsburgh only scores 62.4 points per game, while allowing 64.9 points, which is much better than an Orange defense giving up a whopping 76.5 points.

That being said, the Syracuse basketball offense generates about 16 more points per contest than the Panthers do on offense. Additionally, Pittsburgh is not a good shooting team, connecting on 41.4 percent from the field, 67.8 percent from the charity stripe and 30.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Four guys on the Panthers roster average double-figures in scoring. Pitt also commits 13.3 turnovers a game, which is a fairly sizable number.

All-time, the ‘Cuse owns a 73-46 advantage over Pittsburgh, a long-time rival first in the Big East Conference and now in the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to orangehoops.org.

In 2020-21, the Panthers swept Syracuse basketball. Pitt mounted a huge comeback to stun the Orange by three points at the Carrier Dome, and the Panthers also destroyed the ‘Cuse on their own turf.

It’s time for a dose of revenge, Syracuse basketball.