The one Atlantic Coast Conference team Syracuse can’t seem to beat, Pittsburgh, meets SU on the Carrier Dome floor Saturday at noon for each team’s third conference bout of the season. The Orange (9-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) on Wednesday night picked up its first ACC win of the year, a 70-55 victory against Miami. The Panthers (12-3, 1-1) also played Wednesday, when they upset No. 11 Virginia 88-76 in overtime at home. Four days earlier, Pitt nearly beat then-No. 24 Notre Dame, falling 78-77.

Though Syracuse came away with a double-digit victory against Miami on Wednesday, our beat writers pick SU to fall to Pitt for what would be the sixth straight time. They explain their selections below.

Connor Grossman (8-7)
Pittsburgh 79, Syracuse 68
Relapse

The defensive honeymoon Syracuse enjoyed against Miami will be short lived. Pittsburgh boasts the two most potent scorers in the ACC, including Jamel Artis, who leads the ACC with a 45.8 shooting percentage behind the arc this season. SU skirted past the Hurricanes despite allowing 11 3-pointers, but the Orange won’t be as fortunate on Saturday. Pitt’s multi-faceted offense tilts the game in favor of the Carrier Dome visitors.

Matt Schneidman (9-6)
Pittsburgh 70, Syracuse 64
Artis-try

Artis is one of those guys who seems like he’ll never leave college, just to stay around and haunt Jim Boeheim’s dreams. The Pitt forward is the perfect fit to stand at the foul line and orchestrate a dissection of the zone, a la Nigel Hayes of Wisconsin. The Panthers just plastered almost 90 points – granted, in overtime – on a Virginia team allowing around 49 per game. It’ll be a lot tougher for Syracuse’s defense to hold another ACC opponent to under 60 points, especially being Pitt, and don’t expect it to happen Saturday.

Paul Schwedelson (10-5)
Pittsburgh 72, Syracuse 61
Just a band-aid

The Orange’s 70-55 win over Miami was an effective band-aid. But for a team with problems that were still exposed (See: 11 3-pointers allowed) on Wednesday, a band-aid is all it was. In its last game, Pittsburgh scored 88 points against No. 11 Virginia, which boasts the third best adjusted defensive efficiency in the country, per Kenpom.com. The Panthers also have Artis and Michael Young, the top two scorers in the conference. SU’s win against the Hurricanes was nice, but its defensive problems didn’t just disappear.

Published on January 6, 2017 at 7:45 pm