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PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Syracuse headed to Pittsburgh after dropping its last two games in completely different ways. The Orange were unable to score at all against Duke’s defense before Clemson scored at will on their 2-3 zone.

The Panthers exposed some of the same issues in the Orange, scorching their defense for 16 3-pointers while limiting Judah Mintz and Jesse Edwards offensively. It was the third straight game that SU gave up at least 13 baskets from beyond the arc.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s 99-82 loss to Pitt:

Benny Buckets

Jim Boeheim saw nothing from his forwards against Duke. They didn’t perform much better at Clemson. Chris Bell and Maliq Brown have been the usual starters for SU this season, but Boeheim made a change prior to the game, starting Justin Taylor and Benny Williams instead. It was Taylor’s first career start. Williams last started against North Carolina.

Williams was given the opportunity to take control of the offense before Taylor, getting the ball on a quick catch-and-shoot during SU’s second possession. He took the ball at the left elbow, immediately turned and hit the jumper for Syracuse’s first points of the night. Williams ventured to a similar spot on his own a few possessions later, but he couldn’t convert.

Williams nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to five. The Panthers continued to play off him from deep so he positioned himself on the opposite wing a few possessions later. Edwards completed the easy cross-court pass and Williams drained the 3-pointer without hesitation.

Williams missed his first shot of the second half before collecting two rebounds but got hot again near the end of the game. Williams drove on his own down the left side with under three minutes to go, dropping in a fadeaway off the glass.

Zone in the zoo

Boeheim couldn’t even consider Syracuse’s defensive play as fair against Clemson. The Tigers were the fifth team to hit at least 13 3-pointers against SU’s zone.

“It was awful,” Boeheim said.

Before the season, Boeheim said Sryacuse would possibly run some man-to-man defense. A few days ago, he clarified that SU is a zone team and wouldn’t change its system. Pittsburgh took advantage of that like every other ACC squad, playing hot potato with the basketball before finding an open shooter. Most free looks came from deep with the Panthers taking seven shots from behind the arc in the opening four minutes.

The Orange got better as the game went on, getting even more help defensively when Quadir Copeland and Symir Torrence were inserted into the lineup. Still, the Panthers struck late in the shot clock or in transition.

With seven minutes left in the first half, Mintz and Joe Girard III trapped Nike Sibande at the top of the key. It was successful but Sibande flipped the ball to Blake Hinson, who was at the right wing. Hinson drilled a 3-pointer from a few steps behind the 3-point line, hearing the shot clock buzzer go off as he celebrated going back to the other end. Greg Elliott stole the ball from Williams two minutes later, dishing it to Hinson. Same spot, same result.

In the second half, the Panthers continued to shoot less than 40% from the field but took advantage of their opportunities from deep. Before hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, they also struck off an inbounds play with Nelly Cummings lofting an inbounds pass to Sibande for a slam.

Edwards vs. the double

Syracuse has lost every game this season when Jesse Edwards hasn’t scored at least 10 points. He had 12 points against the Tigers after notching five points on three field goal attempts.

On Saturday, Edwards was again the focus of the opposing defense, doubled or tripled whenever he got into the lane. Still, he did his best to distribute the ball, finding Williams wide open from deep. He also successfully drove into the paint midway through the first half, dunking it while earning a trip to the line.

Edwards took a trip to the free throw line to start the second half after trying to navigate another double team. He missed his first attempt though and was called for an offensive foul a few minutes later. Still, he got back to the line with the same strategy throughout the rest of the night, attacking both defenders head-first. But the issues for Edwards were again on the other end as he picked up his fifth foul with 14 minutes left in the game.

Judah’s return

The Oakland Zoo made sure Mintz didn’t forget that he originally committed to Pittsburgh, yelling “traitor” at him during timeouts and after every foul he committed. When Mintz misfired a cross-court pass to Justin Taylor early in the first half and turned the ball over, the crowd erupted into cheers.

Mintz missed the first shot of the game and misfired on a baseline jumper later in the first half. He committed two fouls early as well, only getting on the scoreboard 16 minutes into the game from the same spot he couldn’t score from earlier along the baseline.

Mintz finished the first half with three points and matched that number with assists early in the second half. Unable to find any success on his own, Mintz drove down the right side of the lane and stopped on a dime. He quickly passed to Edwards, who dunked it with ease.

But like the rest of the season, Mintz started to heat up late in the game. He got back to the free throw line with 13 minutes left, knocking down both shots. He continued to attack the basket on each possession, finishing on a floater and a layup off the glass on back-to-back plays.

Published on February 25, 2023 at 7:36 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu