Syracuse (9-6, 1-1 Atlantic Coast) picked up its first ACC win of the year on Wednesday after struggling in nonconference play. The Orange next faces Pittsburgh (12-3, 1-1) on Saturday at noon. The Panthers are coming off an 88-76 overtime win over No. 11 Virginia on Wednesday and enter the matchup with five straight wins over SU.

To learn more about Pitt, The Daily Orange caught up with Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer Craig Meyer.

The Daily Orange: How did Pitt find success against Virginia, one of the top teams in the country?

Craig Meyer: A whole lot of it tied back to Pitt having an otherworldly showing from beyond the arc, where it made 13 of its 21 shots (61.9 percent). It’s easy to say in hindsight, but against a pack-line defense like Virginia’s, the Panthers had a nice schematic advantage with three tall players — 6-7 Jamel Artis, 6-8 Cam Johnson and 6-9 Mike Young — who are excellent outside shooters. With the pack-line providing few, if any, chances at dribble penetration and open looks from inside the arc, you need good outside shooting to beat the Cavaliers. And if you have taller players able to get off clean shots consistently, their outside ball pressure isn’t nearly as big of a factor.

Young’s play down low also had a big hand in the win. He deftly worked his way out of double-teams that were constantly thrown at him and he smartly utilized his array of post moves against a Virginia team that, given the pace of the game, was forced to play smaller lineups.

The D.O.: How has first-year head coach Kevin Stallings differed from former head coach Jamie Dixon?

C.M.: In 15 games under Stallings, Pitt has operated at a faster pace than it did under Dixon, averaging about two possessions more per game than it did last season. There’s a greater degree of offensive freedoms, too, as Stallings usually defers to his players to take what they deem to be good shots instead of working in a sometimes rigid system that, seemingly by law, forced you to not shoot until the final five seconds of the shot clock. The Panthers are giving up more points per game, but I think that has more to do with the team’s faster tempo than any kind of newly developed defensive deficiencies.

Away from the court, Kevin’s been a little more forthcoming than Jamie was, at least in the final years of his tenure. Part of that has to do with his personality, but I think being an established, 56-year-old coach in his first year at a school probably adds to it some, too.

The D.O.: Pittsburgh has beaten Syracuse five straight times. Why has Pitt had the Orange’s number recently?

C.M.: For some of the criticism he received in his later years at Pitt, I think Jamie always had a great approach when it came to facing Syracuse, especially when it came to attacking holes and openings in the Orange’s zone. A more passive defense like the zone (unless that’s just a misconception I’ve developed as an outsider) lended itself well to slower tempo which Jamie preferred to operate at and in which his teams thrived. The opposite of that situation is part of the reason why Pitt has so seldom beat a pressing team like Louisville the past six years.

There’s also something to be said for the psychological edge a team gains once they’ve beaten an evenly matched opponent so many times in a row. That sort of success has a tendency to lead to a snowballing confidence.

The D.O.: Jamel Artis and Michael Young are the ACC’s top two scorers. What makes them so effective?

C.M: They’re both excellent shooters, with Young possessing a well-rounded, inside-out game that makes him a threat both down low and outside. The latter of those two spots has become an increased part of his game this season, as he only attempted 12 3-pointers as a junior (in 15 games this season, he’s already attempted 47).

They’re experienced players, both seniors, who are accustomed to playing with one another, even dating back to a year together in prep school. It also helps that, beyond them, Pitt is a relatively thin team, with only seven players averaging at least nine minutes per game. Young and Artis’ talent helps them score with the frequency they do, but a lack of viable offensive weapons around them also plays some role in boosting their scoring numbers.

The D.O.: Outside of those two, who should Syracuse fans be aware of?

C.M.: Cam Johnson has developed into a nice and reliable third scoring option behind Young and Artis. He’s had a breakout sophomore season, averaging 12.7 points per game after averaging just 4.8 last season and has finished in double figures in 11 consecutive games. At 6-8, he has the look of a small forward, but plays much more like a shooting guard, very rarely driving to the basket. Of his 63 made field goals this season, 36 came from 3. It’s hard to blame him for that imbalance, too; on the season, he’s shooting 43.9 percent from deep.

The rest of his game isn’t incredibly well-developed — he needs to bulk up, he isn’t a great defender and he doesn’t often beat opponents off the dribble — but he’s an excellent outside threat who will almost certainly factor into Saturday’s game.

Published on January 6, 2017 at 4:35 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds