Syracuse Basketball: Road loss at Pittsburgh was utterly embarrassing

Earlier this month, Syracuse basketball played beautifully in the second half of a 16-point triumph over Pittsburgh on the Hill.

Unfortunately, the Orange didn’t replicate that second-half performance when the ‘Cuse traveled to the Panthers on Tuesday night.

Instead, the Orange was outscored by long-time rival Pitt by a count of 40-25 after intermission. That dreadful performance, after Syracuse basketball led by four points at the break, culminated with a 64-53 setback to a sub-par Panthers group.

I don’t want to disrespect Pittsburgh here, because the Panthers fought tough in the second half and deserved to win. But let’s face it, Pitt isn’t good in the 2021-22 campaign.

Has Syracuse basketball hit rock bottom in 2021-22?

The Panthers, for a bit of context, have non-conference losses to the likes of the Citadel, UMBC and Vanderbilt, among others. At the time of this writing, Pittsburgh checked in at No. 183 via KenPom and at No. 192 nationally in the NET ratings.

In short, even though this Atlantic Coast Conference clash transpired away from Central New York, it’s still an awful loss for the ‘Cuse. Falling to top-10 Duke on the road by double-digits is one thing. Losing by double-digits to this Pitt crew is, simply, atrocious.

In all fairness, the Panthers (8-12, 3-6) have experienced defeats in a handful of really tight games, but then again, so has Syracuse basketball (9-11, 3-6).

Sometimes the shots aren’t falling, and that’s what occurred for the Orange against Pitt. Per ESPN statistics, the ‘Cuse hit on just 30.2 percent from the field, 19.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 56.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Pittsburgh is a pretty physical team that is solid on defense, but Syracuse basketball players have no excuse for shooting that poorly. This squad prides itself on shooting and scoring in droves, and putting up 53 points won’t cut it.

Junior reserve guard Symir Torrence, who was injured in the loss at Duke, absolutely was missed versus the Panthers. It’s unclear when Torrence will be able to return to the court.

The Orange hasn’t endured a losing season in more than five decades. Jim Boeheim has never had a losing stanza during his tenure on the Hill as the team’s head coach.

Next up for Syracuse basketball is a home date this Saturday night against Wake Forest, which is one of the ACC’s best squads in 2021-22 and beat the ‘Cuse by three points in overtime earlier this month.

I bleed Orange and am trying to remain optimistic. But realistically, this Orange team is in serious jeopardy of ending the present stanza with a record below .500.