Observations from Syracuse’s win over Pitt: Quick start, closing the door?
Syracuse began the contest on a 13-2 run, leading Pitt from start to finish and notched its best-scoring first half of the season. Courtesy of Pitt Athletics
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PITTSBURGH — On paper, Syracuse’s start to Atlantic Coast Conference play is as favorable as any. While falling to Clemson in the conference opener on Dec. 31, SU’s next four games lined up against some of the ACC’s early and expected bottom feeders.
The Orange took care of business against Georgia Tech on the road, storming out to a 20-point lead before nearly collapsing in the final minutes. Matchups with Florida State and Boston College in the near future loom large, as both entered Saturday without an ACC win. But first, Syracuse was tasked with another road task.
SU took down Pittsburgh by 11 points Saturday, riding off its momentum from Atlanta. The Orange produced their best first half of the season and overcame a near collapse once again.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (11-5, 2-1 ACC) 83-72 win over Pitt (7-9, 0-3 ACC) Saturday:
Offensive explosion
Yes, it took some time. Without Donnie Freeman for a gargantuan portion of SU’s nonconference schedule, its offense was abysmal. Yet the signs of a turnaround were coming, mostly courtesy of Freeman. And Syracuse scored its most points in a first-half this season (48), surpassing its number (44) from just four days ago.
Freeman dropped 18 in his return versus Clemson to nearly will the Orange to victory. Against GT, he dropped a career-high 27. It appears as Freeman goes, Syracuse goes, too. The Orange were destructive out of the gate.
A 13-0 run kick-started an early 13-2 lead and eventual 48-37 halftime lead. And it wasn’t just Freeman. J.J. Starling bounced back from his disappointing performance against the Yellow Jackets with a 3-for-3 start. Nate Kingz and Tyler Betsey knocked down multiple 3s to extend the lead further.
Even when the 3-pointers slowed down at the beginning of the second half, William Kyle III was on mop-up duty with an acrobatic putback slam. He then put down a two-hand jam to extend the lead to 15.
Game of pace
There’s only one team in the ACC that has attempted fewer field goals per game than Pitt. That would be Syracuse. Yet with SU’s ferocious defense, which has allowed the fewest points per game in the conference, the Orange honed in on locking down the Panthers.
Pitt’s offense was completely out of sorts early on. It went 1-for-7 in the first four minutes and change. As Kyle blocked off the passing lane at the top of the key, the Panthers practically handed him the ball, leading to an early 8-2 lead for the Orange. Meanwhile, with each defensive rebound for Syracuse, head coach Adrian Autry emphatically waved his team on with his right arm, a signal to push the pace.
SU’s second unit slowed down its offensive pace and allowed the Panthers to open up the floor slightly. Yet in the half-court, the Orange executed through the 3. Even as Syracuse’s starting unit returned, the Panthers found some offense in the half-court, finding a soft spot around the free throw line for midrange jumpers. Brandin Cummings also broke off 16 through the first 20 minutes and 29 overall.
Even on inbound passes, Syracuse wanted to run rampant. On one along the left sideline, Naithan George slipped a fastball through traffic like he was Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The pass caught Freeman, and the forward was fouled. Autry has clamored for pace since the nightmare days of his second season. With the Orange back to full strength, he’s getting it.
Playing Pitt’s game
Pitt entered Saturday’s contest as the fifth-best 3-point shooting team in the conference. Syracuse entered 17th. Ironically, it was SU playing Pitt’s game. The Panthers didn’t convert on a deep ball until 12 minutes into the game. They started 0-for-7 from 3 and finished 5-for-26. Syracuse went 10-for-22 but at one point was 8-for-13. SU reached double-digit 3-pointers made for the first time all season.
Pitt’s best 3-point threat through its first 15 games was point guard Damarco Minor, who shot 41.7% on 72 attempts. Minor missed his first three attempts and it was Omari Witherspoon who made back-to-back attempts to get the Panthers moving. Minor made his first three two minutes into the second half.
As the first half went on through the other side of the court, Betsey caught fire with three makes on four attempts. Starling knocked down 2-of-2 and Freeman found his usual comfort from the top of the key for two makes. The Orange didn’t make double-digit 3-pointers all season. Saturday, they made eight in the first half.
Syracuse’s best 3-point shooting day of the season, efficiency-wise, was 9-for-21 (42.9%) against Stonehill. In Autry’s tenure, the best ever display was actually against the Panthers in his first season, a 10-for-17 (58.8%) performance. The Orange fell back to earth in the second half. But its first-half shooting built a cushion.
Can they close?
The Orange got off to a fast start. But could they hold on to make things easy? In Atlanta, the answer was a resounding no. Syracuse led by 20 points in the second half and allowed GT’s deficit to slip to as little as five. At the first media timeout of the second half against Pitt, SU led 59-42. What would they do?
Autry paced up and down the sideline, rubbing his face and looking onward into the crowd with dismay. The Orange had just allowed a 4-0 run off of careless turnovers and a foul. His disappointment quickly turned into glee, once Kyle bullied inside and made a free throw. Autry’s claps turned into a fistbump once Starling maneuvered inside and made a floater.
There were, of course, a few mishaps that forced Autry into a negative reaction again. A loose ball between Naithan George and another SU player remained loose, eventually falling into the hands of the Panthers, which turned into a layup. The Orange then went cold for three minutes, and Pitt built a 7-0 run.
Cummings’ offensive game kept the Panthers in the game and a peculiar lineup including Sadiq White and Akir Souare, naturally, didn’t produce offense. When Syracuse’s starters returned, Pitt cut the deficit to single digits and eventually as little as six. Freeman made multiple big shots to keep the Orange ahead and their defense bunkered down to close the door. Again, it wasn’t pretty, but SU will take its conference wins when it can get them.
