Pitt is set to travel to Syracuse on Wednesday afternoon for a 4:30 tip-off at The Dome. It was an unexpected change to the schedule that started to take shape over the weekend. It was made official on Sunday evening that Pitt would travel to Syracuse for a Wednesday game.

The Pitt program has been dealing with several issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in recent weeks. Head coach Jeff Capel tested positive and missed the team’s game with Louisville on December 22nd. Pitt’s subsequent two games against Duke and Notre Dame were postponed due to an additional positive test and contact tracing within the program.

The Pitt basketball team expected to play its next scheduled game against Florida State this Saturday, but the ACC, Pitt, and Syracuse worked to make this game happen.

“I didn’t have much to do with it, that’s the higher-ups, that’s the administrators, the athletic directors, and the ACC, and then the doctors and trainers,” Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said during an ACC teleconference on Monday. “We looked at from our end, and I think pretty sure Syracuse did too. Would you have enough bodies to be able to play? Obviously everything is pending on test results as we go forward and getting ready for the game.”

Unfortunately playing basketball in a pandemic will always depend on the most recent test results. Capel said he anticipated that going into this season, and he believes most coaches in the ACC did as well.

“I know I did not anticipate playing the schedule as it was at the beginning of the year,” Capel said. “I knew that there would be bumps in the road, so to speak, and I think one of the keywords to this season is that you have to be able to adapt. You have to be able to adapt and adjust because I think from hear on out, it’s going to be like this. I think it’s going to be in flux.”

The schedule will ultimately change more times before the season ends, and the personnel from game to game will also differentiate. Pitt has already lost star forward Justin Champagne to a knee injury that will keep him sidelined for another 4-6 weeks. The Panthers will head to Syracuse on Wednesday with some more absences.

Capel indicated that two scholarship players will miss the game in addition to Champagnie. He said there is a chance one more player joins that list as well.

“We’ll definitely be down three, so that leaves us ten, and if we’re down more than we’re at nine,” Capel said. “So it just depends on - we’ll definitely be down three, at least.”

Syracuse is a tough assignment for a team that has not played in over two weeks and will be down multiple scholarship players. The patented 2-3 zone by Jim Boeheim is always tough to navigate, and Pitt has struggled at times playing against zone defenses this season.

“Justin’s a big loss for us. Period,” Capel said. “Obviously for Syracuse with their zone, he's a guy that we feel like is very comfortable in the middle of the zone, which we think can be a point of attack, and also along the baseline.”

Pitt will look to capture its first win over Syracuse since February 11, 2017. The Panthers have lost seven straight in the series, and Jeff Capel has never defeated the Orange during his tenure as the Pitt head coach. It will be tough to accomplish without Champagnie, but Capel believes others have a chance to step up on Wednesday.

“And so it’s a huge loss for us, but it’s also a tremendous opportunity for other guys to step up,” he said.