Five Takeaways: Syracuse 69 Pittsburgh 58
Syracuse earned their first Quad 1 victory of the season Tuesday night in the Steel City (at least as of the win as Pitt's NET will likely go down as a result), sweeping the season-series against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Here are five takeaways from the game:
1. Three-Point Shooting
There were a few times watching tonight’s game that I couldn’t believe my eyes. Cuse went 10-17 (58.8%) on their three-point attempts with seven different players connecting from distance. Coming into the day, the Orange averaged exactly 30 percent from long range (96-320), so to nearly double your percentage is an impressive feat. Keeping a ridiculous shooting clip like that is obviously not sustainable, but it’s still nice knowing that collectively this can be a better shooting team than what it says on paper.
Chris Bell continues to shoot the rock with confidence, Justin Taylor was perfect in his two attempts, including Quadir Copeland, Benny Williams, and Kyle Cuffe Jr hitting triples off the bench. You can only hope that this shooting prowess wasn’t just a one-time thing.
2. JJ Starling
Starling looked like the all-around talent from his freshman season at Notre Dame tonight against Pitt. He led the Orange with 17 points and was efficient in his opportunities (7-11/2-5/1-2). On a night when Judah Mintz didn’t have his shooting touch, Starling picked up the slack to produce an offensive boost. It was the most points for the hometown kid since his 21-point outburst against Georgetown on December 9. Starling also has not scored in double digits since the neutral site matchups versus Oregon. So maybe he just feels more comfortable scoring on the road. Either way, it seemed like every time Pitt would start to threaten to get back in the game, Starling would hit a shot.
3. Shutting Scorers Down
Blake Hinson and Carlton “Bub” Carrington were complete non-factors for Pitt, which is a large reason why Cuse came out on top. It’s now the second performance that Hinson has put up inefficient shooting numbers against SU, and he hasn’t been the same dominant player since the December 30th matchup.
At the Dome, Hinson went 3-12 from the floor and 1-7 from three in an 11-point night. In his last five games, the fifth-year forward has only amassed 20 points once (21 versus Louisville) and the shooting slump might have hit rock Tuesday tonight. Hinson had 12 points on 4-17 shooting and 2-11 from beyond the arc. For the four-time ACC Freshman of the Week, Carrington has held scoreless for the first time in his promising collegiate career, going 0-10 against the Orange.
4. Quadir Copeland
I’m not sure if it is because of the Pittsburgh versus Philadelphia rivalry, but Copeland always comes ready to play against the Panthers. His career-high 22 points in their last meeting helped secure his ACC Player of the Week honors, and Copeland continued being impactful for the Orange. It wasn’t a huge scoring total in his 27 minutes with eight on Tuesday, but his tenacity was what Syracuse needed. Copeland also had five rebounds and four assists, but my favorite play of the night was when he dove on the floor and was on the only Orange jersey surrounded by four Pitt players. That type of hustle always gets your team fired up, and his demeanor all night long ensured that the Panthers’ comeback attempt was not going to happen.
5. Peter Carey/ Mounir Hima
With Naheem McLeod out for the season, Coach Autry has been tinkering with what to do at the center position. Maliq Brown had an off night with just two points and five rebounds dealing with foul trouble early, providing a chance for Peter Carey. The sophomore was limited to just 20 minutes last season over three games and has been on the floor sparingly, which was apparent against Pitt. Carey picked up four fouls in seven minutes and really could have put Syracuse in a bind if this was a closer game. Hima checked in for a minute, making it the second-straight game that Carey has played more than him. Looks like Coach Autry will just have to have that “by committee” approach, piecing it together for the time being. Perhaps due to the opponent and circumstances, but Benny Williams played the five for several minutes in the second half.
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