What to know before Syracuse’s regular-season finale vs. Pitt
Syracuse wraps up its third regular season under head coach Adrian Autry in the JMA Wireless Dome against Pitt on Saturday. Courtesy of Adam Mouchrani | The Louisville Cardinal
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Just one game remains in Syracuse’s regular season. The Orange enter their regular-season finale amid a four-game losing streak, their second of the season. In Jim Boeheim’s 47 years in charge, SU never lost four straight games twice in a year.
The Orange finished their road stretch with two losses to Wake Forest and Louisville. Syracuse ended 2-7 on the road and 4-16 the last two years.
Adrian Autry’s third regular season in charge wraps up Saturday against Pitt. The Panthers are one of a few teams worse than the Orange in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year and post the second-fewest points per game with 70.1.
Here’s everything to know about Pitt (11-19, 4-13 ACC) before it faces Syracuse (15-15, 6-11 ACC) Saturday:
All time series
Syracuse leads 76-52.
Last time they played
SU’s last road win of the season came against Pittsburgh. It was almost two months ago, and the Orange took down the Panthers 83-72 on Jan. 10. Syracuse showed an explosive offensive effort with a season-high 48 first-half points.
William Kyle III slammed home an absurd put-back dunk, and the Orange banged 10 3s while holding Pitt to just five. Even with the Panthers’ Brandin Cummings dropping 29 points, Syracuse built a lead as large as 18 to roll to its second straight win. SU then beat Florida State to extend its winning streak to three before a season-defining four-game losing streak.
KenPom odds
Syracuse has a 68% chance of winning, with a projected score of 74-69.
The Panthers report
Just like Autry, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel is on the hot seat. The former Duke associate head coach received an extension through 2030 by former Panthers Athletic Director and current SU Director of Athletics candidate Heather Lyke. Pitt is showing signs of moving on from the Lyke era, firing its women’s head coach, Tony Verdi, on Tuesday.
In their eighth season under Capel, the Panthers have taken another step back. Pitt won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons and even made it to the NCAA Tournament Second Round in 2023. Since then, the Panthers won 17 games last year and are at just 11 entering the regular-season finale.
Pitt has posted only two road wins all year, though its best came against a March Madness bubble team, Cal, on Feb. 28. The Panthers lost five straight from Jan. 31-Feb. 14 and are still fighting for an ACC Tournament spot.
Cummings, the Panthers’ top guard, is out for the season with an ankle injury, and forward Cameron Corhen leads the way. Pitt is middle of the pack defensively, though it has one of the worst offenses in the conference. The Panthers shoot just 33.7% from 3, slightly ahead of the Orange.
How Syracuse beats Pitt
Since losing Cummings, Pitt has won just two games. Its signature win over Cal featured Corhen, Barry Dunning and Damarco Minor combining for 44 points. When Cummings popped off against the Orange, he scored 40% of the Panthers points. The point is, Syracuse should win this game.
No matter Pitt’s recent success and SU’s cold streak, these are two bad basketball teams. In most cases in college basketball, the home team takes advantage. If the Orange assert their defensive toughness from the first four minutes against Louisville, and the offensive desperation of the final 10 minutes, Syracuse can outplay Pitt from wire to wire. And as two of the conference’s worst shooting teams, the Orange will need to hit some to take control.
Stat to know: 12.83
This offseason, Syracuse brought in the ACC’s reigning assist king, Naithan George, through the transfer portal as an expensive get. The Orange beat out North Carolina for the Georgia Tech transfer, filling a much-needed position Jaquan Carlos struggled to succeed in during Autry’s second season.
Even with George’s assist prowess, Syracuse ranks 15th of 18 ACC teams in assists per game at 12.83. Only Notre Dame, Stanford and Boston College rank worse. Even as George ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game at 5.3, the rest of SU’s squad is far too ball-dominant to spread the ball efficiently. No other player is averaging even half of George’s line.
Player to watch: Cameron Corhen, forward, No. 2
While the Orange shut down most of Pitt’s threats at the Petersen Events Center, Cummings took the spotlight. He efficiently got to his spots in the mid-range, often cooking Kiyan Anthony or J.J. Starling to finish 11-for-17 from the field. His 29 points were his most in ACC play this year, but he’s out for the season with an ankle injury.
The attention has turned to Corhen, who is averaging 12.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. In his fourth college season and second with the Panthers after transferring from Florida State, Corhen is posting career highs. Last time out against Syracuse, he was held to just nine points.
