After a week off, the Pitt basketball team returns to action this afternoon. The Panthers will be in upstate New York to take on longtime nemesis, Syracuse, for a 12:30 tip from the JMA Wireless Dome, with television coverage slated for ESPN2.
Pitt is in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Last Saturday, the Panthers fell victim of Clemson by a 78-75 decision in overtime. Jeff Capel’s team is now sitting on a 12-6 overall record with a 3-4 mark in ACC play. Despite the recent slide, Pitt is still in a fairly good spot, checking in at No. 32 in the NET rankings to start the day.
The Panthers simply need to start stacking some wins, and the hope is that it will start today. Syracuse comes into this one with at 9-10 and 3-4 on the year. The Orange are No. 149 in the NET, qualifying this a ‘Quad-3’ opportunity for Pitt.
Adrian Autry in his second season as head coach after replacing the legendary Jim Boehim. This program has missed three straight NCAA Tournaments and it’s not looking like it will change this season. Syracuse needs some juice, and the recruiting class features Kiyan Anthony, son of Orange legend Carmelo Anthony, which should spark the program next year.
For now, this year’s team has plenty of issues. Syracuse allows 78 points a game, which is next to last in the ACC. The Orange simply do not have the offensive firepower to play in shootouts most games either, as Syracuse is 3-6 when allowing 80 or more this year. In the their most two most recent losses, the Orange dropped a 85-61 decision to Louisville on January 14th, then an 86-72 setback to Clemson on Wednesday.
This team is missing one of its best players in freshman forward Donnie Freeman, who has not played since January 4th. He was averaging 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds on the season.
Still, Autry has some weapon on this roster.
JJ Starling, a 6’4” junior guard, tops the team in scoring at 19 per game. Starling has gone over 20 points in four of his last five, including 25 points against Clemson on Wednesday. Big Eddie Lampkin provides a presence inside for Syracuse. Listed at 6’11” and 265-pounds, Lampkin could provide issues for Pitt on the glass. He has grabbed nine or more rebounds in each of his last nine games.
While Syracuse has struggled this year, it does have the momentum in this series. The Orange won both meetings last season, and that likely played a big role in Pitt narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament. Can Pitt Pitt snap this losing streak? The Panther-Lair.com staff previews today’s game below.
Stephen Gertz (12-6, 5-13 ATS) - If the Pittsburgh Panthers want to firmly cement themselves as an NCAA Tournament team, then they cannot slide any further today. The Syracuse Orange is not a good team. In fact, they are among the worst teams left on the schedule for Pitt even if this game is on the road. Good teams beat bad teams regardless. Opposing teams have among the shortest possession lengths against Syracuse. Translation: The Panthers should have opportunities to attack early in the clock in this one. Additionally, the Orange do not turn teams over. So, unless Pitt coughs up the ball on their own, their recent trend of early first half turnovers should end. Lastly, they hemorrhage offensive rebound opportunities, so the Panthers should be able to get quite a few second chance opportunities. If they can make life even a little tough for J.J. Starling and Pitt’s guards come out with a sense of urgency, this should not be one that fans have to sweat out.
Prediction: Pitt 78-70
Jim Hammett (14-4, 9-9 ATS) - At some point in the second half of the Clemson game last week, Pitt played like a good basketball team. They outscored Clemson by 10 in the second half, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen what Pitt can do when it’s clicking on all cylinders. Unfortunately for the Panthers, it still resulted in a loss. Moving forward, Pitt needs to find a way to just string together more good sequences in games than bad, as the first half lulls have been too costly for Pitt of late.
I think today’s game represents an opportunity for Pitt to snap out of this current funk. Syracuse has some talented players, but I think the trio of Pitt’s veteran guards should be enough to overcome JJ Starling of Syracuse on his own. Pitt’s bigs needs to adjust to Lampkin’s size in the middle. Outside of Starling and Lampkins, there have not been a lot of consistent threats for the Orange this season, especially with Freeman sidelined. Pitt should have a chance to be the aggressor in this one with Leggett and Lowe attacking the paint against a team that struggles defensively.
Prediction: Pitt 83-71
Matt Steinbrink (13-5, 6-12 ATS) - This is a huge game for the Panthers. They are on the road and at the Dome, but this Syracuse team is very beatable. They are solid down the middle in Starling and Lampkin, but there is just not enough offensive depth or firepower. Pitt has had a week off now just to stew with the four game losing streak. Given that, I think they come out focused and locked in together and get back on track.
Prediction: Pitt 79-70
Houston Wilson (13-5, 8-10 ATS) - Pitt finds itself in a familiar, pressure-filled position where dropping a game to Syracuse could deal a serious blow to its tournament hopes. This isn’t the kind of matchup that adds value to their resume—it’s one that could significantly damage it with a loss. With a week off, I expect them to put it all together and finally get a much needed road victory.
Prediction: Pitt 79-70
Chris Peak (13-5, 8-10 ATS) - After a string of Quad 1 and Quad 2 games - all of which Pitt lost - the Panthers will get a different kind of challenge today when they look to avoid taking a bad loss at Syracuse. Minimizing the bad losses is almost as important as getting good wins, and Pitt’s resume is strengthened quite a bit by the absence of bad losses. Can the Panthers keep that up today against the Orange? Syracuse isn’t especially good at much this season, although the Orange do have two of the top individual rebounders in the ACC in Eddie Lampkin and Donnie Freeman, although Freeman has missed the last five games with an injury. Syracuse doesn’t defend the three or shoot the three very well, and this should be a game where Pitt can find some success from beyond the arc. Overall, this looks like a good bounce-back opportunity for the Panthers, and I think they’ll capitalize on it.
Prediction: Pitt 83-68
