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A three-game losing streak, with defeats coming against Virginia, Miami and Wake Forest, has sunk Syracuse below .500 and threatened its postseason hopes before conference play reaches its midway point. The Orange (7-8, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) will try to rebound when they host Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the first of three consecutive games at home before traveling for five of their next seven.

The Panthers enter off a narrow win against Boston College and tight losses to Louisville and Notre Dame — with all three games being decided by a combined six points. John Hugley leads them in scoring with an average of 15.7 points per game.

Here’s what The Daily Orange’s beat writers think will happen in the Carrier Dome against the Panthers (6-9, 1-3 ACC).

Andrew Crane (9-6)
If they don’t win this one …
Syracuse 76, Pittsburgh 68

Well, here I am, finally picking the Orange. Their defense has still been underwhelming, but even a team off to SU’s worst start since 1968-69 is still better than Pittsburgh this season. No conference game can be called a tuneup anymore given how this season has unfolded, though Saturday’s game will be as close as the Orange will get. These are the games that could potentially help SU get its season back on track, yet the margin for error will be razor thin throughout the rest of the year. If the Panthers — which are the team with the No. 1-ranked free-throw rate in the country, per KenPom — can get Jesse Edwards, who has fouled out in four consecutive games, back into foul trouble, they’ll stay in the game and keep it close.

I think the Orange will finally get a bounce-back game from their guards and overcome Edwards’ foul trouble to pull away late. Look for a balance of Buddy Boeheim, Joe Girard III and Cole Swider to pace SU’s offense, preparing it for its second matchup of the season with Florida State on Saturday.

Roshan Fernandez (8-7)
#GettingLateEarly
Syracuse 80, Pittsburgh 78

Syracuse showed spurts of promise against Miami early in the game, and against Wake Forest. The defense looked improved, at times, and the shooting was impressive, at times. The Orange simply haven’t been consistent. They haven’t finished games well, they’ve found new ways to lose — not a good sign for any team — and they haven’t been able to play a complete, 40-minute contest.

Against Pittsburgh, it’s very unlikely Syracuse solves all of its defensive issues, but for a team amid a three-game losing streak, SU needs to find a way to win this game, in any way possible. It doesn’t need to be pretty, and it doesn’t need to be convincing, but the Orange are below .500 and need to show serious urgency. Head coach Jim Boeheim didn’t respond to a question on Monday about whether he was concerned about SU’s ability to make the NCAA Tournament, stating simply that “I’m concerned about playing Pittsburgh right now,” but it’s starting to get late. The Orange have somehow found a way into March Madness in recent years, and though I’m not sure if they’ll pull that off this year, I think they’ll take care of this must-win game over Pitt.

Gaurav Shetty (9-6)
Only way is up, I think?
Syracuse 86 Pittsburgh 79

Against Virginia, it was defense. Then turnovers against Miami. Against Wake Forest, fouls racked up, but one inbound pass could’ve turned a loss into a win. I’m beginning to wonder what new ways Syracuse can find to lose winnable games. Rebounds maybe? None of the three losses were to bad teams, which might be an optimistic view of this losing streak. Miami just beat Duke, and Wake Forest is yet to lose at home. It’s hard to justify a loss, however, when a team scores 58 points in the second half, or one inbound play that could’ve sent a career 82.6% free-throw shooter to the line to end the game. Boeheim and his team are not wrong when they say the offense is not the problem. The offense isn’t the reason Syracuse keeps losing — it’s everything else. 

But Pittsburgh might be coming to the Carrier Dome at the right time. Syracuse hasn’t been on a four-game losing streak since the 2017-18 season. Pittsburgh charts around the same level as Drexel and Brown, whom the Orange easily beat, but also Colgate, where poor 3-point defense resulted in a surprise upset. It would take a comedy of errors for Syracuse to lose to Pittsburgh. Maybe it’s rebounding, maybe it’s even timeouts, but I just can’t see that happening against Pittsburgh. 

Published on January 10, 2022 at 8:10 pm