Syracuse (10-3) visits Pittsburgh (10-1) in its first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season. The Orange is riding a three-game winning streak after beating Cornell, Montana State and Texas Southern. SU is 65-40 all-time against Pittsburgh but lost twice to the Panthers last season.

Sam Blum (9-4)
Pittsburgh 75, Syracuse 65
The Cat’s Meow

Pittsburgh hasn’t beaten anyone in nonconference play to suggest that it is one of the nation’s Top 25 teams, but they certainly pass the eye test. The Panthers are one of the nation’s most offensive efficient teams and they feature experience at every starting position. They’re deeper than Syracuse, and just overall better. The Orange will give the Panthers a run, but this cat is too fast for Syracuse to catch.

Jesse Dougherty (9-4)
Pittsburgh 73, Syracuse 69
Early pit

This game will be a microcosm of Syracuse’s third run through the ACC: Good enough to compete against the top-tier teams, but not big enough to come out on top. Pittsburgh’s Jamel Artis and Michael Young are primed to beat the Orange’s 2-3 zone, and that’s exactly what they do from both the high post and short corner. From there, Michael Gbinije gets his on the other end but his teammates don’t do enough in support to edge the Panthers after 40 minutes of physical basketball.

Matt Schneidman (9-4)
Pittsburgh 65, Syracuse 68
Supporting cast

The story of Syracuse’s season has been its one-dimensionality and Gbinije being its only consistent offensive threat. Pittsburgh has players that can beat the zone. They have before, led by point guard James Robinson. But Dajuan Coleman continues his “hot” streak and Malachi Richardson finally emerges from his shooting slump to lift the Orange to an upset win.

Published on December 29, 2015 at 1:05 pm