Edelin a non-factor in debut
PITTSBURGH — Billy Edelin chomped on a piece of gum, tapping his foot. He appeared nervous as he waited to enter a Syracuse men’s basketball regular-season game for the first time.
Edelin, who was suspended for all of last year and 12 games this season, played seven minutes in the Orangemen’s 73-60 loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday. He entered with 9:30 left in the first half and finished with two points, one rebound and a turnover.
Asked if he was as nervous as he looked on the bench, Edelin said, “I didn’t really get a chance to be. Maybe if I were out there longer.”
“He was really hyped, ready to get out there,” SU forward Hakim Warrick said.
Edelin sat out last year after two female SU students accused him of sexual misconduct. The NCAA suspended him 12 games this season for playing in non-sanctioned recreational-league games.
On Saturday, SU head coach Jim Boeheim planned to limit Edelin’s minutes.
“I didn’t want this game to be put on Billy,” he said.
Edelin played his natural point-guard position, and the Orangemen were called for a shot-clock violation on his first possession.
The crowd rode Edelin even harder than the Panthers’ defense. One fan screamed: “You belong in jail, Bill!” Another in the student section held up a sign that read: “Yo Billy, No Means No.”
Knight fires blanks
Syracuse focused its defensive efforts on stopping Pitt point guard Brandin Knight.
While the Panthers got double-digit points from three players, Knight was a non-factor. He was 0-for-6 shooting, including 0 for 4 from 3-point range.
“We were fortunate that we caught him not having a good game,” Boeheim said. “But I don’t worry about one guy when we play Pittsburgh. You’ve got to worry about all the guys.”
With Knight slumping, shooting guard Julius Page scorched the Orangemen for 25 points.
Pressing matters
With 11:30 left in the game, the Orangemen tried a full-court press.
The Panthers easily cracked SU’s defense, and center Ontario Lett delivered an uncontested layup.
“They didn’t have much trouble with it,” Boeheim said. “It’s a long shot, but when the clock starts getting low, you have to try long shots sometimes.”
This and that
The game was the Orangemen’s first in Pitt’s new Petersen Events Center. The posh facility, which sold out every game before the season, features a media room named after ESPN college football analyst Beano Cook, the school’s sports information director from 1956-66. … Former Pitt football player and NFL Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett attended the game. … The win gave Pitt its first 4-0 conference start since the Panthers joined the Big East in 1982. … Knight and brother Brevin, who played at Stanford, rank 34th on the all-time NCAA brother scoring combinations. For the record, Larry and Eddie Bird are fourth.
