Syracuse Basketball: Orange earn ACC quarterfinal berth after Pittsburgh win
The three-point shot kept falling for No. 6 seed Syracuse basketball (19-12) and with Tyus Battle out, they got the win and are moving on to play the Duke Blue Devils.
No. 6 Syracuse basketball took care of business against Pittsburgh basketball once again behind a hot shooting night from the three-point line as a team. The Orange aren’t known for their three-point shooting. They shoot at 32.3 percent from behind the arc. Against the Panthers, they were 15-of-21 (44 percent). Elijah Hughes made a team-high five three-pointers. He finished the game with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
With Tyus Battle out and day-to-day after suffering a bruised tailbone in their regular season loss against Clemson, Buddy Boeheim was the next man up and he played big in just his third career start. He finished with 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Syracuse replacing Tyus Battle’s production wasn’t just about Boeheim. It was a true team effort.
For example, Paschal Chukwu made things very difficult inside for the Panthers throughout the game. He used his seven-foot-two frame to block six shots. He finished with nine rebounds, seven points, and those six blocks.
No. 14 Pittsburgh basketball needed solid production out of Trey McGowens and Xavier Johnson but they proved to be non-existent thanks to Syracuse’s defense. The only player for Pitt that had an outstanding game was Jared Wilson-Frame who scored 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the three-point. If their’s anything that Pittsburgh basketball managed to do well, they found holes in Syracuse’s zone defense for open shots. They played ahead of Syracuse for the entire half and led by six, 36-30 at halftime.
Syracuse’s defense got exposed in that regard and if the Panthers were able to find ways to score inside and outside, Duke isn’t going to have much of an issue either. An 8-0 run led by Boeheim gave the Orange a four-point lead, 43-39 and Syracuse kept their foot on the gas from there. They went on to win 73-59.
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Syracuse basketball was the better team Wednesday night and once again one of the storylines to follow will be whether Battle plays against Duke. They need him. Zion Williamson should be ready to go after being out six games so Battle being on the floor will only help Syracuse’s chances. Syracuse vs Duke part three begins Thursday night at nine on ESPN.