Syracuse basketball had a fast start but then got trounced by Pittsburgh on the road

It was a tale of two extremely different halves as Syracuse basketball dominated long-time rival Pittsburgh early on but then saw the Panthers slowly chip away and eventually cruise to a home victory over an Orange group that has now lost three straight Atlantic Coast Conference clashes.

Inside the Petersen Events Center on Tuesday night, the 'Cuse found itself leading by as many as 16 points, at 22-6, with just under 11 minutes to go in the first half. The Orange, not a strong 3-point shooting team to date in the 2024-25 season, was excellent from deep in the first 20 minutes, led by junior small forward Chris Bell.

Syracuse basketball would cool down from 3-point land, but the 'Cuse still shot at a strong clip from the perimeter. The issue for the Orange, as has been the case all term long, is that Syracuse basketball was poor on defense in the second half, and the 'Cuse had too many empty possessions that were the result of turnovers.

The unfortunate outcome was an 80-69 setback for the Orange (11-16, 5-11 in the ACC), which will have a losing regular-season record in 2024-25 and next plays N.C. State at the JMA Wireless Dome on Wednesday, Feb. 26, beginning at 7:00 pm.

The 'Cuse drops to 75-52 in its all-time series against Pittsburgh (16-10, 7-8 in the ACC). This result was the latest missed opportunity for Syracuse basketball to grab its first quadrant-one triumph of 2024-25.

Syracuse basketball is swept in the regular season by Pittsburgh.

The Orange connected on 42 percent from deep and 82 percent from the free-throw line, but the 'Cuse only made 38 percent from the field as a whole. The teams ended up tied in rebounds after Syracuse basketball had a wide lead on the glass early on.

To get an idea of the Orange's struggles in the paint, the Panthers had eight blocks, led 28-14 in paint points, scored nine more points from the charity stripe and had a 17-11 advantage in points off turnovers along with 11-6 in fast-break points.

To that end, the 'Cuse committed 14 turnovers, the latest example this season where Syracuse basketball is right there with an opponent, yet miscues played a big role in the Orange ultimately falling.

Junior small forward Chris Bell, who comes off the bench these days, tallied a game-high 23 points and was 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. Junior guard J.J. Starling had 14 points but was only 5-of-15 from the field and committed five turnovers.

Senior guard Jaquan Carlos chipped in eight points and six assists. Freshman guard Elijah Moore wasn't available due to a right leg injury. We're wishing Elijah a speedy recovery.