Observations from SU’s 84-82 loss to Pitt: 3-pointers, big comeback falls short

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Syracuse extended its winning streak to five on Saturday against Cornell, using a strong second-half run to pull away from the Big Red. It helped the Orange, which started the season 3-4, improve to 8-4 heading into their matchup Tuesday against Pitt.

The Panthers entered with the same record and winners of seven of their last eight games. They got out to an early first-half lead through its lethal 3-point shooting, with five Pitt players hitting at least three 3-pointers, led by Nelly Cummings, who tallied 22 points and six made 3s. Pittsburgh also outrebounded SU, 44-35, with Blake Hinson’s 13 leading the way.

Syracuse’s top two scorers, Joe Girard III and Jesse Edwards, combined for 24 points and the Orange struggled from beyond the arc en route to a 25% 3-point percentage. Judah Mintz led SU with 24 points as the Orange got within one in the second half after trailing by double digits for most of the night. Mintz’s missed jumper with time expiring solidified the loss.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s 84-82 loss against Pitt:

Pitt opens up lead via 3 ball

The Panthers entered the game shooting under 35% from 3-point range (making roughly nine per game), a so-so mark that ranks eighth in the ACC. But Pitt fired early and often against SU’s 2-3 zone, finishing the game with 32 attempts — and 13 makes. It moved the ball quickly and soundly, and well-timed screens and kickouts generated repeated open looks.

Pittsburgh made 6-of-13 from deep in the first 11 minutes, while Syracuse missed its first eight attempts. The success from beyond the arc created a double-digit Pitt lead and forced two SU timeouts. Most came on simple screens against the guards on top of the zone, or corner attempts while the Orange scrambled to rotate. Hinson ran to an open corner on one play, caught the ball and sank it for three points that gave Pitt a 23-12 lead. Jim Boeheim called a timeout, waving a slow-moving Mintz over to the bench after yet another Pittsburgh 3.

Minutes later, Cummings fed the high post but immediately got the ball back and stepped into a contested 3 that he still drilled despite Mintz’s hand right in his face. It gave Cummings 12 points — all on 3s.

“We’re not playing defense, simple as that,” Boeheim told Matt Park at halftime.

Pitt kept it going in the second half, too. After Chris Bell missed a 3 badly, the Panthers pushed the ball upcourt, needing only two passes to find Greg Elliott wide-open in the corner. The guard drilled the 3, giving Pittsburgh a 49-35 lead and forcing an SU timeout.

Syracuse comes up dry from outside

The Orange, on the other side, entered with a slightly worse 3-point mark and Boeheim has said several times this season that SU doesn’t need 3s to win. Syracuse showed why in the first half Tuesday, starting 0-for-9 from beyond the arc before Mintz hit one from the top of the arc with 6:02 remaining.

Pitt’s frontcourt, led by 6-foot-11 Federiko Federiko, had the size to keep up with Edwards and deny entry into the post. It forced Syracuse into 3-pointers and one-on-one drives that ended in a series of floaters and occasionally foul calls. Even though Federiko went to the bench late in the first half with two fouls, SU didn’t get the ball to Edwards and recorded only six points in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the first half. The Panthers packed the paint, coercing the Orange into jump shots by laying off their perimeter players.

Syracuse’s first-half struggles from deep were summed up by one possession with two minutes left in the first half. Pitt went to a 2-3 zone and Justin Taylor heaved a 3 from the left wing that clanked off the back rim. Maliq Brown grabbed the offensive rebound and fed it to Mintz, who was open, but also off with a 3, this time from the opposite wing. SU finished the night 6-for-24 from beyond the arc.

Brown, Copeland provide spark off the bench

Bell and Benny Williams combined for seven points and shot 25% in the loss, another inconsistent showing from the forward position, where Syracuse needs more production, especially when Girard and Edwards aren’t posting big numbers.

With his four-point performance, Bell has now scored less than 10 points in six of his last seven games. Boeheim said after the Monmouth win that he hasn’t thought about swapping Bell out of the starting lineup, though his lack of rebounding (18 total boards in 11 games) has irked Boeheim time and time again early this season.

Bell was way off on several shots Tuesday night and sat on the bench for most of the second half while Brown, Quadir Copeland and Taylor picked up most of his minutes. Fellow starting forward Williams sat on the bench, too and the pair combined for only 26 minutes.

Brown and Copeland provided a boost off the bench, in particular, combining for 16 points and 14 rebounds. Brown has now seen 13+ minutes in four straight games and his 27 on Tuesday were by far a career-high. Copeland’s strong defense forced Greg Elliot to step out of bounds late and his putback layup off a missed Brown free throw cut the Orange’s deficit to four with a minute left.

Inconsistent performance from Edwards, Girard

Through the first 12 games, the Orange’s offense has run through Edwards and Girard, their top two scorers. The inside-out combo has been particularly key during the five-game winning streak, where both have notched double-digit points in every game.

Tuesday, though, was different. Girard struggled throughout the first half, though he did notch 13 second-half points. His deep 3 from the top of the arc cut Pitt’s lead to 83-82 with less than a minute left.

Edwards rarely got touches, finishing with only eight points, his fewest all season. Pitt effectively double-teamed the center when he got the ball deep inside, and Edwards was forced to kick the ball out for 3s, likely early in the second half when he passed to Symir Torrence, who missed from the right wing.

Mounir Hima then had to check in for Edwards, who had just picked up his fourth foul, with over 17 minutes left in the game. Pitt followed that by attacking the paint, with Jamarius Burton driving right at Hima on one play and converting the and-one to put the Panthers up 62-44 — their largest lead of the game to that point.

Edwards fouled out with six seconds left and SU down one after Mintz tried to feed him the ball, but Hinson jumped in front for the steal. Hinson made one of two free throws, and Mintz’s missed jumper meant Syracuse’s comeback came up one shot — and two points — short.