Pittsburgh smashes Syracuse on the backboards; Orange Can’t Score (Donna Ditota’s Quick Hits)

Syracuse, NY – We had news before the ball was thrown Wednesday afternoon.

It was the kind of season in college basketball. It was generally such a year.

No team played for a while due to Covid-positive tests within its own program or positive tests in the opposing team’s programs.

Either way, Syracuse led 11-0 and then passed a halftime score of 32-18. It will not last. A tip from Au’Diese Toney, combined with US’s inability to enter the ball with 5.2 seconds left, sealed it for the Panthers. Final count: Pittsburgh 63, Syracuse 60.

The Panthers outscored the Orange 45-28 in the second half. Syracuse led 18 once in the first half.

This is what happened there:

Not Bourama Sidibe or Frank Anselem was dressed in SU uniforms or available for Wednesday’s game. Sidibe, who returned after surgery in early December to repair his meniscus, had a sore knee after Tuesday’s practice and was a Wednesday scratch against the Panthers.

Anselem, Pete Moore, SU basketball spokesperson, is still not medically cleansed from the recent Covid quarantine of the Orange men and has not yet trained with the team. Anselem is out of quarantine, which is evident from the fact that he was in the gym, was hot and interacted with his teammates.

Sidibe, considered by their teammates to be their leader, had an excellent seat on the Orange bench (players were cornered). He spent part of the game shouting instructions to teammates.

Syracuse came out at the gate with figurative fire. The Orange took an 11-0 lead after scoring 3 points through Alan Griffin (2) and Buddy Boeheim. Then Boeheim leads Griffin on a long quick break. SU shot 7-out-19 in the first half of the 3-point line. The Orange as a team was syrupy from a deep distance all season. I asked Joe Girard how much the team was able to shoot the ball during the Covid break, and he said players were able to use shooting guns at Melo Center to work on their jumpers.

SU then cooled down dramatically and struggled to close half. These problems persisted.

The Orange, maybe full with the first half confident of the 3-point line, they continued to take them into the second half. The problem was this time, but very few of these shots went off. As a team, Syracuse converted just ten field goals from the second half.

SU went 4-out-19 from the 3-point line after break. Buddy Boeheim is still trying to find his shotgun. He was 2-out-10 of 3 against the Panthers.

Pittsburgh looks lost from the point of this game. The Panthers struggled to make shots without his best player (Justin Champagnie) and three other guys who adhered to Covid contact detection protocols. Pittsburgh scored half with 18. The Panthers were 6-out-28 overall and 1-out-12 from the 3-point line at halftime.

It did not help that the versatile guard Xavier Johnson, a veteran of Pitt, was limited to five minutes of first half due to the difficulty.

He was back to start the second half and the Panthers took advantage of his score, his pace, his shaking off the bounce and his overall swing.

Robert Braswell was the first SU forward from the bank, which has caused quite a number of speculations on social media. Where was Woody Newton? People wanted to know.

Newton has played well in his limited minutes this season. He was Wednesday’s game. He put on his Syracuse uniform. He is warmed up. He did not play in the first half.

He did jump into action at the start of the second half. He did not play that much.

And Braswell was good. At one point in the second half, while SU held on to a four-point lead, he drained three straight three-point shots. All were assisted by Alan Griffin. And the Orange suddenly took a 44-33 lead. Braswell finishes with 12 points.

Quincy Guerrier was Syracuse’s most reliable player this season. But the Orange forward was in a dirty trouble for most of Wednesday’s game and was not much of a factor. He lasted 30 seconds of the second half before committing his fourth offense.

This was problematic for a number of reasons. The primary reason that SU has played small without Sidibe and Guerrier is clearly SU’s best rebel.

Pittsburgh won the board game Wednesday. This definitely shattered the Orange on the glass. The striking inequality was costly for SU, especially in the waning moments, when Au’Diese Toney gave a hint to let Pitt walk over by 5.2 seconds.

Final rebound score: Pittsburgh 49, Syracuse 33. Toney, who is 6 feet-6, grabbed 14 plates.

This and that: Pittsburgh was without Noah Collier, Nike Sibande and John Hugley due to Covid-19 contact detection issues. Panthers’ best player Justin Champagnie could not play due to a knee injury. Champagne undertook the journey to Syracuse. … Syracuse offered a tribute to the great footballer Floyd Little before the game. Little died of cancer earlier this month. He was in hospice care. … Marek Dolezaj was curiously uninvolved in the match after an attacking attack from the first half. Pitt was small to start the game, but then inserted 6-foot Terrell Brown, which was harder to score and really made a difference for Pittsburgh, who entered him deep into the lane late in the game. Dolezaj finishes with nine points in 40 minutes. He took five shots. … Syracuse has a stationary bike near its ‘bench’. Kadary Richmond is a regular user of the bike (of course if he’s not in the game, because that would be odd.) … Pittsburgh was 1-out-12 out of 3 in the first half. The Panthers were much better there in the second half and won 6-out-16. Johnson’s huge wing 3 with 1:49 left tied the game at 57. … Paint points and it was quite big: SU outscored 28-12 in the paint.

More basketball in Syracuse:

You judge the Orange after a loss to Pittsburgh

Goal kick from Syracuse-Pittsburgh

Syracuse guard Joe Girard V and A: What has happened since the Covid break?

ACC Power Rankings: Where does Syracuse stand when he practices again?