Syracuse (14-6, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) plays its first road game in two weeks on Saturday against Pittsburgh (8-13, 0-8) in the Petersen Events Center. The Orange most recently beat Boston College on Wednesday night, while the Panthers just dropped a game to N.C. State.

Here’s what to know about the matchup.

All-time series: Syracuse leads 67-45

Last time they played: Syracuse played Pittsburgh very recently, winning 59-45 in the Carrier Dome on Jan 16th.

The Pittsburgh report: The Panthers were a bad team when they came to Syracuse two weeks ago, and things haven’t gotten better. They were ranked 202nd in the country per Kenpom.com in the last match-up, and have since dropped to 209th. Pitt scores the fewest amount of points per game (64.4) in the ACC and are the only team in the conference with a negative scoring margin on the season.

Pittsburgh is one of the worst teams in the country at keeping control of the ball, as they have a turnover percentage of 22.3 (ranking 331st out of 351 teams), meaning that nearly a quarter of its possessions ends up in a turnover.

The Panthers also don’t record a strong impact in the hustle stats, either, ranking in the last in block percentage and 338th in steal percentage, per Kenpom.

How Syracuse beats Pittsburgh: Defend the 3-pointer. Syracuse ended up winning by 14 points last time against the Panthers, but the game was way closer than it should have been, considering the talent difference between the two squads. The Orange offense struggled to score in that one — as it has in basically every conference game other than the most recent one against Boston College — but Pitt hung around by drilling 3s. SU can’t let that happen again.

Stat to know: 35.7

Nearly 36 percent of Pittsburgh’s scoring comes from the 3-pointer, the 74th highest mark in the country per Kenpom. Conversely, the Panthers rank just 313th in point distribution via the 2-pointer.

Kenpom odds: Kenpom gives Syracuse a 77 percent chance to win and predicts a 62-54 game.

Player to watch: Parker Stewart, guard, No. 1

Stewart torched the Orange two weeks ago, knocking down seven 3-pointers and finishing with 23 points, both career highs. Stewart said that he noticed a soft spot at the top of the key against the Orange’s zone and he took full advantage, scoring more than half of his team’s points. The freshman is coming off a game in which he didn’t make a basket, but he also scored five points the game before exploding at Syracuse. The Orange needs to tag him on Saturday.

Published on January 26, 2018 at 4:55 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer