Instant Juice: Syracuse 72, Pittsburgh 49

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim coaches from the sidelines. Mandatory Photo Credit: Kicia Sears, The Juice Online.

A quick take on Syracuse’s 72-49 rout of Pittsburgh on Wednesday evening:

WHAT HAPPENED: After Ryan Murphy’s 3-pointer with 5:55 left in the first half pulled Pitt to within 24-19, the Orange responded with a 9-0 run to go up 33-19 with 2:37 before intermission. Elijah Hughes then hit a 3-pointer and a jumper as part of a 7-0 run to open the second half, and Syracuse put the game out of reach early as they took a 44-26 lead with 17:00 remaining. The walk-ons made a cameo with 42 seconds left, and Brendan Paul hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded as the Orange won its second straight to keep its precarious NCAA hopes alive. SU won easy dispute losing Buddy Boeheim (who went scoreless) in the first half to an ankle injury.

» Related: Would an extra season at Syracuse help Elijah Hughes?

ANALYSIS: The win was SU’s 16th on the season, meaning that even if they lose their remaining three regular season games and their ACC Tournament opener, the Orange will still be postseason eligible because they’ll finish no worse than 16-16. But on the optimistic side, even though Syracuse isn’t listed on ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s current bubble, they are still in the ‘under consideration’ list. If Syracuse wins out against Boston College, UNC and Miami, and then wins a pair in the ACC Tournament, that would move them to 21-13 on the season and also back into NCAA tourney consideration.

HERO: In Syracuse’s first matchup against Pitt in January, Elijah Hughes slogged through a 4-13, 10-point outing. The ACC’s leading scorer had no such issues on Wednesday, scoring a game-high 25 points on 8-15 shooting. Joseph Girard III (15 points) and Bourama Sidibe (13 points, 10 rebounds) also starred.

ZERO: Pitt came into the matchup the ACC’s worst outside shooting team, shooting a touch above 30 percent from beyond the arc. The Panthers stayed true to form against the Orange, shooting 29.1 percent from the field and 6-26 from 3 while turning the ball over 17 times.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Orange hosts North Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 4 p.m. in Syracuse’s final regular season home game. TV: ESPN.

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About Wes Cheng 2907 Articles
Wes has worked for Rivals.com covering the New York Knicks, as well as for Scout.com covering Syracuse athletics. Wes has also been a contributing writer for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), for SportsNet New York (SNY) as a news desk writer covering all of New York professional sports, and reported on the NBA and MLB for the New York Sportscene. A native of Long Island, New York, Wes graduated from Syracuse University in 2005 with a degree in journalism. Contact him at wes[at]sujuiceonline.com.