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Syracuse’s slide continued this weekend with an 88-82 loss to North Carolina. The defeat marked SU’s 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, as it continues to hit new lows under Adrian Autry. The Orange currently sit in 15th place in the ACC and could possibly miss the conference tournament, depending on how their final five regular season games go.
Four days prior to the UNC defeat, Syracuse lost to last-place Miami, where it allowed 91 points. SU’s porous defense continued Saturday. The Tar Heels shot 54% from the field in the second half and tied a season-high with 13 3-pointers. Eddie Lampkin Jr. scored a game-high 26 points and J.J. Starling added 22, though UNC’s potent offense proved to be too much.
Next up for the Orange is Pittsburgh on the road. The Panthers are one of three teams (alongside Boston College and Notre Dame) that SU faces twice in the regular season.
Here’s everything to know about Pittsburgh (15-10, 6-8 ACC) ahead of its matchup with Syracuse (11-15, 5-10 ACC) Tuesday:
All-time series
Syracuse leads 75-51.
Last time they played …
Pittsburgh came into the JMA Wireless Dome and defeated Syracuse 77-73 on Jan. 25. The loss was the second of a three-game skid for SU, where it also lost to Clemson and Stanford. The Orange led by one at halftime but allowed Pitt to score 45 points after the break and knock down 58% of its shots.
Five different players finished in double figures for SU, yet nobody finished with more than 16. The Orange also shot a season-high 32 3s, with Starling (three) and Chris Bell (four) combining for seven of them. In the end, it was Pitt point guard Jaland Lowe who stole the show with 22 points.
KenPom Odds
Syracuse has a 15% chance of winning, with a projected score of 81-70.
The Panthers report
Pitt has found success over the past two seasons. After four straight below .500 seasons under head coach Jeff Capel, the Panthers won 24 games and made the NCAA Tournament in 2023. Last season, they followed it up by winning 22 games.
This year, Pitt’s been marred by inconsistencies. It had a couple of strong nonconference wins over Ohio State and West Virginia. The Panthers then won their first three ACC games before dropping four straight. They defeated Syracuse and then UNC to seemingly get back on track. Another four-game losing streak ensued prior to their win over Miami this past weekend.
Lowe and Ishmael Leggett are the driving force behind Pitt’s offense. The backcourt duo both average more than 16 points per game and might have to score even more with Damian Dunn ruled out for the season with an injury. The combination of Lowe and Leggett provides strong ball security for the Panthers. They turn the ball over on just 14.5% of their possessions, which, per KenPom, is the 24th-best rate in the country.
How Syracuse beats Pitt
Syracuse simply needs to defend better. Its defense has been poor all season, but over the past four games, it’s been non-existent. The Orange are allowing 87 points per game in that stretch. Miami has the worst defense in the ACC, allowing 79.9 points per game. Syracuse isn’t far behind, giving up 78.6. If SU defends the way it has recently across the final five regular season games, it could finish at the bottom.
Joe Zhao | Design Editor
On the other end, the Orange should continue to feed Lampkin. Starling has shown he can shoulder the load as the No. 1 option, though he needs a little bit of help. Lampkin has provided that recently, especially across the last two games. He set season highs in points in back-to-back games, first with 22 against Miami and 26 against UNC. Lampkin looked fresh the past couple of weeks, and Syracuse should continue to feed its hot hand.
Stat to know: 10
Syracuse has accumulated 10 ACC losses this season — its fifth time doing so since joining the conference in 2013. Saturday’s loss marked the fastest SU has reached that total. In 2018 and 2023, Syracuse lost its 10th game on Feb. 28, both of which were the penultimate regular season games. In 2020, SU reached double-digit conference losses with a defeat to Miami in its last regular season game on March 7 while a loss to UNC on Feb. 28, 2023 marked its 10th loss.
If Syracuse loses Tuesday, it’ll only be the second time in history it has lost 11 ACC games.
Player to watch: Jaland Lowe, guard, No. 15
Lowe completely took over last time out against Syracuse. He scored 17 of his game-high 22 points and had four of his six assists in the final 20 minutes. Lowe is a crafty point guard who can navigate the pick-and-roll at a high level. The lefty likes to use screens to get his primary defender on his back and then shield them with his body to either get off a floater or a lob.
Lowe didn’t play in Pitt’s last game against Miami after taking a hard fall against SMU on Feb. 11. On Monday, Capel confirmed at his weekly media availability that Lowe would be available against Syracuse.
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