Syracuse Basketball: Analyzing encouraging signs in key triumph over Pitt

It was only one game, and one win, but to me, it was an important one, as Syracuse basketball played beautifully on defense in the second half to defeat long-time rival Pittsburgh, 77-61, on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome.

Yes, the Panthers (6-10, 1-4) don’t have a good record to date in the 2021-22 campaign. But as we detailed the other day, Pitt has played a bunch of quality foes really close, and the Panthers swept the Orange a stanza ago.

Tuesday evening’s Atlantic Coast Conference clash on the Hill was the first of three home duels in a row for the ‘Cuse (8-8, 2-3), and an opportunity for Syracuse basketball to grab some conquests and build some momentum after having dropped three heart-breakers in a row, including two on the road.

In no way, shape or form am I saying here that the Orange is now in the Big Dance conversation. What I’m focused on in this piece is dissecting the positive takeaways from the team’s 16-point victory against Pittsburgh.

After a sub-par first 20 minutes, Syracuse basketball was stellar in the second half.

While it’s true that the ‘Cuse managed to own a 35-34 edge over the Panthers at halftime, the Syracuse basketball defense wasn’t great in the first 20 minutes.

In the second half, though, the Orange zone was active and covered Pitt shooters well. The Panthers aren’t a great shooting team, I get that, but regardless, Syracuse basketball held Pittsburgh to 27 points in the second half.

Buddy Boeheim, who has struggled with his shot over the past two encounters, did get a few open looks, a rarity, and he capitalized on them.

The senior shooting guard, per ESPN statistics, connected on 7-of-13 from the field, 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Buddy Buckets was tremendous, collecting a game-high 24 points.

Neither senior forward Cole Swider nor junior point guard Joe Girard III had amazing shooting displays versus the Panthers, but what I enjoyed seeing was both of them being more aggressive in hunting for their own shots and driving to the hoop.

Historically, Pittsburgh has boasted physical big men who would have their way with Orange forwards and centers. Not this time. Syracuse basketball did a wonderful job of containing the Panthers’ top big man on defense, and the ‘Cuse also put forth an excellent effort with its own paint scoring.

Case in point, Syracuse basketball made 25 field goals, but only six of them were from deep. The Orange also hit 21 free throws, but the squad continues to struggle a tad with its shooting percentage from the stripe.

Junior center Jesse Edwards fouled out yet again, for the fifth straight instance and the 9th total occasion in 16 games. But – and this is pivotal – he didn’t get into early foul trouble, and that enabled him to stay on the floor for a longer overall amount of run.

Lately, Syracuse basketball has held its own on the glass, and against Pitt, the ‘Cuse only committed nine turnovers. I thought graduate student forward Jimmy Boeheim, who tallied 18 points and seven rebounds, was really proficient at scoring in the interior.

Perhaps most critically, last week Syracuse basketball blew an 18-point lead at Miami and lost by one point. Then the Orange had an eight-point edge at Wake Forest and fell by three points in overtime.

Fast-forward to Tuesday night versus the Panthers, and when the ‘Cuse generated a double-digit lead in the second half, Syracuse basketball players didn’t fade.

Rather, they stepped on the gas pedal to emerge with a convincing win at the start of an important three-contest stretch in Central New York.