Syracuse (12-6, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) looks to snap a four-game losing streak as it hosts Pittsburgh (8-10, 0-5) Tuesday at 9 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. SU’s star player Tyus Battle is coming off of a 37-point game against then-No. 23 Florida State and gets a chance to put up another big line against the 202nd ranked Panthers, per Kenpom.com.

Here are the picks for the game.

Matthew Gutierrez (16-2)
Turn the tide
Syracuse 70, Pittsburgh 55

The Orange should have no trouble beating Pittsburgh, the worst team in the conference. The Panthers lost by 14 to Virginia Tech, a team SU handled by 12. A Syracuse victory Tuesday night would end SU’s four-game skid and get the Orange in the direction it wants to go, as each of its next four games should be wins. Then comes February.

Sam Fortier (14-4)
Extreme Makeover: Pitt Edition
Syracuse 69, Pitt 49

Pittsburgh is no longer stocked with 6-7, 6-8 playmakers penetrating Syracuse’s zone. Pittsburgh is no longer inside or close to the Top 25. Pittsburgh is no longer good. The Panthers recently lost one of their best players to season-ending injury in senior forward Ryan Luther and that devastates the team’s inside defense as well as high-post offense. All of this indicates the Orange should cruise and snap its season-long four-game losing streak.

Tomer Langer (13-5)
Clawing ahead
Syracuse 73, Pittsburgh 54

The Panthers are really bad this year.
They rank in the bottom four in the ACC in every statistical category and haven’t won a game yet in the conference. Despite losing its last four games, Syracuse just went toe-to-toe with Florida State and held its own against Virginia. The Orange won’t have any issues against Pitt.

Published on January 15, 2018 at 3:59 pm