Opponent Preview: What to know about Pittsburgh in regular-season finale
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Ahead of Syracuse’s game against Miami last Sunday, SU was sitting in the “First Four Out,” according to ESPN’s Bracketology. And on Monday, SU snuck into the “Last Four In.”
Last Wednesday, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she believed that the Orange needed to win two out the last three games to comfortably secure its spot in the NCAA Tournament as they sit on the bubble. A loss at Florida State didn’t do much good, but they bounced back against Miami on senior day.
Syracuse controlled the game for all four quarters, spreading the ball offensively, recording five double digit scorers. The Orange fended off any Miami comeback despite temporarily struggling to break the press at the beginning of the fourth quarter. SU’s 77-68 win over the Hurricanes now has them in the Field of 68.
The Orange now travel to Pittsburgh — the worst team in the conference — to close the regular season and are in search of the regular-season sweep over the Panthers.
Here’s everything to know about Pitt (10-17, 3-13 Atlantic Coast).
All time series
Syracuse leads 50-16.
Last time they played
On Jan. 5, Syracuse hosted Pittsburgh in the JMA Wireless Dome in search of its first win of the 2023 calendar year. After taking a six-point lead at the end of the first quarter, Syracuse fell apart in the second, allowing 20 points in about a five-minute stretch. Dyaisha Fair was silenced in the first half with just two points, while Georgia Woolley carried the offense.
But the Orange flipped the script in the second half. Fair scored double digits in both the third and fourth quarters while Woolley continued her momentum from the first half, finishing with 23 points. The duo combined for over half of SU’s points in the 89-71 win — the Orange’s 23rd straight win against Pitt. Defensively, Syracuse also notched 11 steals, fueled by Woolley’s five.
The Panthers report
The Panthers are the worst team in the conference and have only three conference wins, which came against Virginia, Boston College and Georgia Tech. Those three conference wins have come in the last five games. Prior to that, the Panthers had lost their first 11 conference games, including a 10-game losing streak.
Pitt is pretty middle of the pack in most statistical categories, averaging just over 63 points per game and shooting 39.3% from the field, which rank 12th and 13th in the conference. But against ACC opponents, those numbers drop to 59.6 and 36.5%, respectively, both good enough only for 14th in the ACC. The Panthers have some strength defensively, ranking in the top one-third in blocks and steals per game, per Her Hoop Stats. But on the glass, they’re in the middle of the pack, corralling just 36.5 rebounds per game, 181st in Division-I, per Her Hoop Stats.
Led by fifth-year head coach Lance White, White has never accrued more than three conference wins in a season during his time at Pitt, with the lowest point being in 2019-20, where the Panthers finished 5-26 with just one conference win.
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How Syracuse beats Pitt
This is a much-improved Syracuse team when compared to the first meeting between the two sides. Woolley has played much better over the course of recent games, Kennedi Perkins has provided a relief option off the bench and Fair ranks second in the conference with 19.9 points per game. On the glass, SU ranks No. 35 in total rebounds per game, per Her Hoop Stats, with just over 41. Legette-Jack said 43 is her team’s target number, and if Syracuse can reach that mark against Pitt, it should close the regular season on a high note.
In the most recent game against Miami, Syracuse displayed a complete, all-around win. In the earlier part of the season, it’s been mostly Fair carrying the workload, but the win over the Hurricanes proved that Syracuse is much more than her. Pitt might lock in on Fair, but with reliable options like Woolley and Alaina Rice on the perimeter, Syracuse can spread the floor and score.
Stat to know: 64.2%
When the Panthers have secured at least 25 defensive rebounds, they have won 10-of-14 games this season, most of which came against weaker nonconference opponents. But overall, Pitt struggles on the defensive glass, with a defensive rebounding rate of 64.2%, 326th in Division-I, per Her Hoop Stats.
With their size down low in Dariauna Lewis, the Orange can extend possessions, get easy points in the paint or kick out for jumpers, taking advantage of second-chance opportunities. In the first meeting, Syracuse notched 13 offensive rebounds and translated that into 16 second-chance points.
Player to watch: Amber Brown, forward, No. 5
Amber Brown has started every game for Pitt in her collegiate career and is the only player for Pitt that has started every game this season. The senior forward averages just 9.6 points per game and 5.0 rebounds. In Pitt’s first game against the Orange, Brown notched a season-high 21 points and added seven rebounds. She became the fastest player in program history to notch 550 career points, 450 rebounds and 100 career assists in over 20 years.
