Pittsburgh Basketball: 3 keys for Senior Night matchup with Syracuse

1. Slow down Judah Mintz

One of the top storylines in this game is Mintz coming to play at the place he originally committed to. A year ago, he was set to play for Pittsburgh but de-committed early in the season and in the offseason, picked Syracuse. Statistically, it’s worked out for him, leading all ACC freshmen in scoring at 16.0 ppg, including 18.8 in the last eight games alone.

He had one of his best games against the Panthers in the first meetup, scoring a team-high 24 points on 7/17 shooting, along with five rebounds, four assists, and five steals. Mintz has been incredibly consistent as of late and will be a handful for the likes of Nelly Cummings and Jamarius Burton.

But Pittsburgh has to be careful to not focus too much on Mintz, as sharpshooter Joe Girard is capable of making a ton of threes. Look for Cummings, who had 22 points on 6/11 shooting from deep against the Orange, to get a good amount of time against him. There’s also Nike Sibande, who has become a defensive stopper off the bench to get time on Mintz, who likes to crash the paint and draw fouls.

There’s a chance that the hostile crowd and environment could get to Mintz, who has the propensity to make mistakes. If he has a rough game, Syracuse’s odds of winning aren’t high. But the Panthers have to make sure to at least keep him in check and not get all the senior guards in foul trouble on his own.