Syracuse, N.Y. — The Syracuse basketball team takes on the Pittsburgh Panthers at 2 p.m., Saturday at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
The game will air on ACC Network.
See in-game team and individual stats here.
Listen to our postgame show on “Syracuse Sports,” hosted by Brent Axe, on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher and wherever you listen to podcasts.
Note: Refresh this page throughout Syracuse’s game at Pittsburgh to see the latest updates
Syracuse comes out on a heater
SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 23, Pittsburgh 10 with 11:14 remaining in the first half
Syracuse jumped out to an 19-4 lead, with 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc (Pitt is 0-for-6 from 3).
Donnie Freeman stepped out on the right wing and buried a 3, then Akir Souare tapped a defensive board to preserve a possession. Starling located Freeman down low, and the sophomore forward finished an and-one.
The Orange are playing really good basketball at both ends of the floor and have hit eight of their first 12 shots. Starling has gotten to the basket and has seven early points.
SCORE UPDATE: Syracuse 8, Pittsburgh 2 with 15:30 remaining in first half
A very strong start for William Kyle, who stepped into the passing lane on back-to-back plays to spark a five-point run. His first steal led to an open corner 3 by JJ Starling.
The second?
The former high jumper dunked over Cameron Corhen in transition.
Kyle then finished underneath on a defensive breakdown and contested a shot at the other end.
Kyle has been really active and problem early, but he picked up a second foul with 15:31 remaining in the first half.
Pregame
Syracuse gets another good litmus test on the road against Pittsburgh.
The Panthers (7-8, 0-2 ACC) are at the bottom of the ACC standings but have a good win against Ohio State and represent a Quad 2 opportunity for the Orange at this stage of the season.
Neither Syracuse nor Pittsburgh take a ton of 3s relative to their conference peers, but the Panthers shoot it better, and Syracuse defends it better.
SU also gets to the free throw line at a much higher clip than Pitt, which ranks last in the conference is free throw attempts per game. (SU ranks third behind Stanford and Duke.)
The Orange also has Donnie Freeman, who will likely be the most talented player on the floor Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
Freeman is coming off a career-high, 27-point outing in a victory at Georgia Tech on Tuesday night. Since returning from a nine-game injury absence Dec. 31, he’s had the look of a guy who is assuming the alpha dog role that was expected out of the McDonald’s All-American when he signed two year ago.
Syracuse’s other former McDonald’s All-American, JJ Starling, has struggled in recent outings, leading some analysts to call for more minutes for freshman Kiyan Anthony. Starling hasn’t scored in double-figures in three of his previous four games.
