Syracuse Orange men’s basketball: predictions and poll vs Pitt

The Syracuse Orange (9-10, 3-5) host an old rival tomorrow afternoon when the Pitt Panthers (12-6, 3-4) visit the JMA Dome. Tip-off is at 12:30 pm on ESPN2 and here’s what we’re predicting:

Kevin: Syracuse 71, Pitt 70

The Panthers are reeling and have all the pressure on them in this game as their NCAA hopes are slipping. I think this is a game where Kyle Cuffe has to play big role at keeping Jaland Lowe out of the lane. Lowe’s getting ¹⁄₃ of his points from the foul line so if the Orange can force him to make shots, they can sneak out a win thanks to some better offense from Lucas Taylor who comes back alive at home to get Syracuse back to .500.

Dom: Pitt 76, Syracuse 65

Syracuse catches Pitt at just the right time with the Panthers dropping four straight and struggling particularly on defense. However, I think the idea of pulling off this win is a bit of fool’s gold. Pitt lost to Duke by 29, Louisville by four, FSU by 12 and Clemson by three. It’s certainly a skid… but those are also ACC teams that range from solid to best in the conference. Pitt’s offense is still good enough and this will be another game where turnovers just hand a win to the Panthers on a silver platter.

Mike : Pitt 78, Syracuse 67

You’d think that Pitt entering the matchup on a four game skid would give me some confidence in Syracuse, right? Wrong. They were neck and neck with both Louisville and Clemson – teams that picked apart SU in their meetings – and just had the week off with a chance to mentally reset. Capel’s crew doesn’t self-destruct and outlasts the Orange, sending them to the Bay with plenty of homework.

Sam: Pitt 84, Syracuse 68

I mentioned it in the what-to-watch, but I think this is a complete mismatch for Syracuse’s defense with the way Pitt controls the pick-and-roll game. The Panthers will PnR the Orange to death, and break 80.

Szuba: Pittsburgh 77, Syracuse 63

Pitt has hit a bit of a rough patch of late but that shouldn’t stop Capel’s crew from handling Syracuse by double-digits. The Panthers still boast one of the better offensive teams in the country behind Lowe and Leggett. The Orange didn’t quite have defensive answers for Clemson this week; expect that to carry over to Saturday.

Finn: Pitt 70, Syracuse 68

The SU community has already become disillusioned with the team this year, and for me, the home crowd atmosphere that makes the Dome special is already gone. With a lack of home-court advantage combined with a team that, in my opinion, hasn’t shown the grit and effort of previous years, I expect a loss. Pitt is on a bad run but will be licking their chops at the prospect of getting the season back on track against one of the two worst defenses in the league.

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