Beat writers make picks for Syracuse-Pittsburgh
Syracuse hosts Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Orange lost to the Panthers when the two teams met on Dec. 30. Sam Maller | Staff Photographer
Since Pittsburgh beat Syracuse in both teams’ ACC opener, the Panthers have gone 6-6 while slipping to the middle of the pack in the league. The Orange (18-9, 8-6) squares off against Pittsburgh (17-6, 7-6) in the Carrier Dome at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Here is how our beat writers think the game will pan out.
Sam Blum (18-9)
Pittsburgh 70, Syracuse 58
Blowing Bubbles
Syracuse looked more like a bubble team against Louisville than it did an NCAA Tournament team. The loss didn’t put the Orange back on the bubble, but a loss to Pittsburgh has the Orange back in desperation mode. The feel-good days of SU’s streak are over, as the Panthers do to SU what they did in the Steel City, and run away with a once-close game. Syracuse wasn’t aggressive in the paint offensively and certainly not defensively on Wednesday, and that won’t fly against Pittsburgh. Thankfully for SU, this loss is something the Orange has a chance to come back from.
Jesse Dougherty (19-8)
Syracuse 62, Pittsburgh 58
Climbing out
Syracuse was really bad in the second half against Louisville. Like, really bad. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the Orange will hit a lull after winning five straight games and eight of its last nine. The Orange’s game against Pittsburgh on Saturdaywill have an old Big East feel for 35 minutes — fought on the glass and floor with an unrelenting defense on both ends of the floor. But then SU’s talent will shine the brightest in crunch time, with Malachi Richardson, Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney doing what needs to be done to shoulder their team back into the win column.
Matt Schneidman (19-8)
Pittsburgh 73, Syracuse 67
Panther’s lair
The bubble covering the Carrier Dome isn’t the only bubble in play on Saturday afternoon. After a 14-point loss to Louisville, Syracuse inched just a bit closer to the proverbial straddling line for the NCAA Tournament and would benefit greatly, an understatement, from a win against a Pittsburgh team in similar waters. But the versatility of Michael Young hurts Syracuse in all areas and the Orange has its back to the wall with three games left in the regular season.
