Syracuse has not had much to smile about in recent weeks, although its first matchup with Pitt offered a brief glimmer of happiness for the scuffling Orange.
The rematch between Syracuse and Pitt takes place Tuesday evening on the Panthers’ home court, where both teams will take the floor in search of a much-needed win.
The Orange topped the Panthers 77-61 on Jan. 11 behind 24 points from Buddy Boeheim and 18 from his brother Jimmy Boeheim. However, that win was only one of two in the last seven games for Syracuse (9-10, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), which is slipping dangerously close to the bottom of the ACC standings.
One of the four ACC teams below the Orange entering the week is the Panthers (7-12, 2-6), who also have lost five of their last seven games.
Both Syracuse and Pitt are coming off lopsided defeats on Saturday.
The Panthers were trounced by Clemson 75-48 as they finished with more turnovers (20) than made baskets (16). John Hugley led the way with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Jamarius Burton had 10 points and seven boards. However, their teammates combined for only eight buckets in the ugly setback.
“Everyone on our team has to step up,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “It’s not about John, Jamarius, or anyone in particular. Everyone on our team has to step up and play better. We have to play better, period. Everyone has to step up and do their job at a high level. We didn’t do that this evening. We’ll get back to work.”
Syracuse is coming off a 79-59 loss to Duke in which the Boeheim brothers shot a collective 6 of 26 from the field, and Joe Girard III struggled as well, connecting on just 3 of 13 attempts.
In particular, Buddy Boeheim needs a bounce-back effort Tuesday. He finished 1 of 10 from 3-point land against Duke, marking the first time since Dec. 7 that he failed to make multiple 3-pointers in a game.
“Buddy got to the spots,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “He’s been played that way all year by big guys and he’s able usually to get to his spot. He wasn’t able to (early) and then when he was able to get some looks, he just couldn’t make them.”
–Field Level Media
