PITTSBURGH — Syracuse (15-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) added to its winning streak by beating Pittsburgh (8-14, 0-9), 60-55, on Saturday evening in the Petersen Events Center.

Here are three reactions from the game.

Too good to be true

Syracuse’s last game against Boston College produced an uncharacteristically pristine offensive performance. The Orange scored 81 points on a season-high 60.4 percent from the field.

That game seemed to be an outlier rather than a start to a new trend, though. Syracuse was anemic on offense Saturday, making just six shots in the first half, three of which came from Tyus Battle.

The same issues that have plagued the offense all year resurfaced in a major way. Ball movement was limited no matter what lineup was in. When the three guards were in, Pittsburgh would effectively double each ball-handler, leaving the high post open. Oshae Brissett struggled to find openings, while Marek Dolezaj seemed very timid every time he put up a shot from there.

SU ended shooting just 35.2 percent.

Searching for answers

Since the start of ACC play, Syracuse has had a pretty consistent rotation. Tyus Battle, Frank Howard and Oshae Brissett would start and play nearly the entire game every time. Center Paschal Chukwu started regularly eclipsing the 30-minute plateau in conference play, while forwards Matthew Moyer and Marek Dolezaj split time rather evenly.

But Moyer sat out Saturday’s contest with a sprained left ankle injury. Dolezaj slid into his starting spot.

With the Orange struggling badly, though, Boeheim was continually forced to swap players in a desperate attempt to find a group that worked. Every available scholarship player saw at least eight minutes of time on the court in the first half, with everyone but Chukwu seeing at least double digits.

Things changed in the second half, though, as Howard Washington didn’t see the floor until the last 30 seconds and Sidibe took over nearly the entire frame for Chukwu.

Comeback kid

Since the start of ACC play, Bourama Sidibe has averaged seven minutes per game and hasn’t played in two of them. His nagging knee injury caused by tendinitis was limiting the freshman who split time with Chukwu to start the season. Sidibe has already received two platelet-rich plasma injections.

With Chukwu struggling mightily in the first half — on one play he was outrebounded by 6-foot-5 Pitt wing Jared Wilson-Frame — Sidibe got an early and extended look against the Panthers. He responded in the first half by grabbing eight rebounds. But like the rest of the team, he didn’t do much on offense, scoring just four points.

That changed in the second half. Sidibe consistently found openings on the baseline. He finished with a game- and career-high 18 points and 16 rebounds.

Published on January 27, 2018 at 6:16 pm

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