Syracuse men’s basketball: four takeaways from the Orange’s 77-73 loss to Pittsburgh

A stronger performance, but ultimately not enough to get to the finish line with a victory.

It was a tight-contested battle in the JMA Wireless Dome, but the Syracuse Orange (9-11, 3-6) ultimately fell just a step behind, falling to the Pittsburgh Panthers (13-6, 4-4) 77-73 on Saturday.

Both teams never led by more than nine points and held the advantage on the scoreboard for similar percentages in the matchup. It was a bounce back performance compared to earlier in the week, but a hot shooting second half from Pitt led to Syracuse coming up short and dropping their second straight ACC game.

An interesting game brings plenty of interesting observations. As per usual, here are your takeaways from the Orange’s close home loss to the Panthers:

Starling minutes are the x-factor… in more ways than one

This is probably the biggest “game narrative” I noticed on multiple fronts.

Foul trouble for Starling was a factor at two different points in the game. Two quick fouls in the first half saw him head to the bench. Syracuse actually held up well, propelled by the defense forcing Pitt to shoot just 30% (10/30) and the bench chipping in 24 of the team’s 33 points in the first half.

Looking back at that game now, that stretch was probably the one Syracuse will regret not capitalizing on the most. Pitt’s shooting regressed back to the mean and then some in the second half, knocking down over 58% of its field goals and not turning the ball over at all. Considering Syracuse’s field goal percentage was 10% higher than Pitt in the first half, only leading by one felt and leaving some points on the board hurt in hindsight.

Starling also picked up his third foul two minutes out of halftime. That helped Pitt’s guard duo of Jaland Lowe (22 points, 6 assists) and Ishmael Leggett (16 points) to hit the gas pedal the entire second half.

Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images

Starling still had a strong performance considering he only played 26 minutes, finishing with a team-high 16 points and 5 assists. It’s not discrediting that individual effort at all, but broadly saying the foul trouble played a big factor in the final result and was the dominant narrative in the game.

Old demons haunt the Orange (again)

The key difference in the end (outside Pitt’s shooting finding some life in the second half) was the turnover margin. Syracuse had 11 turnovers total, compared to just three from Pitt. Eight of those came in the first half, reiterating that possessions were indeed left on the board prior to halftime.

The other deciding factor: Pitt was due for some shooting improvement compared to the first half, so it’s hard to fault there. The real concern was on offense — below 38% in the second half, a few too many jumpers and not attacking the rim. That mainly happened prior to the final few minutes, where the Orange tried to fight back from the small hole they were in.

An intriguing shot diet

Something to monitor going forward and probably the most notable stat from this game — Syracuse’s shot selection.

The numbers: nearly half of the Orange’s 67 field goal attempts (~48%) were from three. Syracuse did shoot 34.4% from beyond the arc, slightly up compared to its season average.

The Orange have certainly been willing to shoot from the outside more as of late based on just watching the games. Considering Syracuse’s initial struggles from three to start the year, the volume is needed to play through Eddie Lampkin (10 points, 23 rebounds, 3 assists) or give better driving lanes for Starling and company.

The big question: is that and will that shot diet be sustainable? Simply putting the idea out there.

Bell shows signs of life

One of the key promising signs of the day — welcome back, Chris Bell.

Bell played 25 minutes, including closing out the game. It was the 10th time he cracked double-figures in scoring, finishing with 12 points on 4/9 from three. It comes after Bell took just four attempts, scoring 7 points and played 26 minutes combined against Louisville and Clemson — Syracuse’s previous two games.

As crazy as it might sound, Bell remains the biggest x-factor for the Orange heading into the remaining portion of the ACC schedule. There’s a value to getting 10 points and a few threes to go in, especially with Starling now back.

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Now it’s your turn: what are your takeaways from the Orange’s 77-73 loss to Pitt?