Syracuse Basketball: Top takeaways as ‘Cuse scores critical road win at Pittsburgh

Syracuse basketball put its rough outing last Saturday afternoon at then-No. 7 North Carolina in the rear-view mirror, as the Orange picked up a huge Atlantic Coast Conference victory on the road versus long-time rival Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening.

In doing so, the ‘Cuse swept its 2023-24 regular-season series with the Panthers. What’s more, at least as of Tuesday night, the Orange notched a pivotal quadrant-one triumph, given that Pitt had an NCAA NET ranking of No. 68.

After shooting dreadfully from long distance at the Tar Heels in a 103-67 setback to UNC in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Saturday afternoon, the ‘Cuse flipped the script against the Panthers, as Syracuse basketball was excellent from beyond the arc.

In besting Pitt by a final count of 69-58, the Orange (12-5, 3-3 in the ACC) also secured its first road win in league play during the 2023-24 campaign.

Syracuse basketball improves to 76-50 in its all-time series with the Panthers (10-7, 1-5 in the ACC), and now the ‘Cuse will possess a three-game homestand coming up.

My top observations as Syracuse basketball conquered Pitt on the road.

•Sophomore guard J.J. Starling, the Central New York native, was fabulous. He went 7-of-11 from the field, hitting several tough mid-range jumpers and finishing with a team-high 17 points.

•Sophomore point guard Judah Mintz, who was verbally committed to Pittsburgh before reopening his recruitment and then ultimately pledging to the Orange, heard from home crowd at the Petersen Events Center. While he struggled with his shot, Mintz went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, tallying 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

•Sophomore forward Chris Bell only logged 16 minutes, but he scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.

•Lately, sophomore wing Justin Taylor has struggled from the field. Against the Panthers, he was 2-of-2 from deep. Redshirt sophomore guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. also hit a 3-pointer.

•Junior forward Benny Williams played with confidence on Tuesday evening. In 19 minutes, he registered seven points, five boards and one assist.

•Sophomore wing Quadir Copeland collected eight points, five rebounds and four assists.

•As a collective unit, Syracuse basketball connected on 47 percent from the field, a stellar 59 percent from 3-point land and 69 percent from the free-throw line.

•Pittsburgh struggled with its shooting, and the ‘Cuse defense had something to do with that. The Panthers hit on just 35 percent from the field, 19 percent from downtown and 64 percent from the charity stripe.

•In other statistical categories, Pittsburgh actually held advantages in points off turnovers, rebounds, second-chance points, paint points, fast-break points and blocks. Conversely, Syracuse basketball had edges in assists, steals, bench points and turnovers forced.

•I can’t stress enough how important of a result this was for the Orange in the current term. After suffering its largest-ever defeat in ACC play against UNC over the weekend, the ‘Cuse went on the road again. In a hostile environment, with junior center Naheem McLeod out due to injury and sophomore big man Maliq Brown in foul trouble early in the second half, Syracuse basketball had Williams at the five spot for part of this game. The Orange defense was good, the ‘Cuse shot well from the perimeter, and this was an impressive overall performance.

•At 12-5 and with three home games in a row coming up, Syracuse basketball has an opportunity to grab some momentum. Up next, the Orange will host Miami on Saturday, Jan. 20, beginning at 12 pm and with television coverage on ESPN2.