Pittsburgh (12-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) and Syracuse (12-5, 3-1) were long-time Big East rivals that have renewed their battle in the ACC in recent years. Both come off major upsets on Monday night: SU at No. 1 Duke and Pitt against No. 11 Florida State. They’ll meet at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Carrier Dome looking to start winning streaks.

Here’s what to know about the Panthers.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 68-45

Last time they played: Last season, Syracuse played Pittsburgh twice and won both times. The second meeting came on the Panthers’ home court, and the Orange pulled out a 60-55 victory. That win featured Bourama Sidibe’s best game of his freshman season: an 18 point, 16 rebound performance that led SU in both categories. Tyus Battle joined the center in double-figure scoring with 14 points of his own. Both Sidibe and Paschal Chukwu blocked three shots.

The Pittsburgh report: Like each of Syracuse’s last two opponents, Pittsburgh enters its meeting with the Orange ranking No. 29 in the country in defense, per KenPom.com. The Panthers limit both 3-point and 2-point shooting to rates well below the national average. After SU’s win against Duke, head coach Jim Boeheim said that he expects the Panthers to play a lot of zone, a defense the Orange struggled to handle in their loss to Georgia Tech.

The Panthers feature four players who score in double figures: Xavier Johnson, Trey McGowens, Jared Wilson-Frame and Au’Diese Toney. Those four leaders are also the four Pitt players to have made double-digit 3s this season. Johnson holds the keys to the Panthers’ offense, as in addition to his team-leading scoring total, he leads the way with 4.7 assists per game

On the defensive end, it’s McGowens averaging 2.7 steals per game as Pitt’s playmaker. Six-foot-10 sophomore Terrell Brown averages 2.5 blocks per game as the Panthers’ top rim protector.

McGowens starred in Pittsburgh’s Monday win over Florida State, scoring 30 points and stealing the ball five times. He worked his way to the line consistently, eventually shooting 19 free throws in the win. Johnson shot 10 free throws of his own for the Panthers on Monday, and Pitt gets the fifth-highest percentage of its points from the foul line of any team in Division I, per KenPom.com.

How Syracuse beats Pittsburgh: Rely on rim protectors and avoid fouling. Only three teams have been blocked on a higher percentage of their shots this season than the Panthers, who have been rejected 14.1 percent of the time they shoot field goals. For perspective: That’s higher than the individual block rate of Paschal Chukwu, who ranks ninth in the country. Coming off a 10-point, 18-rebound showing at Duke, Chukwu could be key in using his length to disrupt Panthers’ shooters that are susceptible to being denied near the basket.

As mentioned above, Pittsburgh relies on its foul shots more than almost any team in the country. More than a quarter of the Panthers points come from the charity stripe, and they shoot it at 72.5 percent from there, above the national average. Boeheim has said before that the Orange play a zone in part to limit fouls, and against a Pittsburgh team that likes drawing fouls, that will become all the more important.

Stat to know: 220

That’s the number of free throws Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens have combined to shoot this season.

KenPom.com odds: Syracuse is given a 77 percent chance to win, by a projected 70-62 score

Player to know: Xavier Johnson, guard, No. 1

Johnson is already a freshman and already the best player the Panthers have (along with the best Fortnite and NBA 2K player on the team, per his roster bio). He leads them in scoring and assists, along with being second in 3-point attempts and free-throw attempts. The 6-foot-3 Johnson will face a test when presented for the first time in his career with Syracuse’s 2-3 zone. How he responds could be crucial to the outcome on Saturday.

Published on January 18, 2019 at 3:21 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3