Pitt vs Syracuse Takeaways: Panthers Close Home Schedule in Style

The Pitt Panthers shredded Syracuse's zone and beat their rivals in blowout fashion.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers notched one of their more impressive wins of the season, drowning Syracuse Orange in 3-pointers on the way to a 99-82 route of their rivals on Senior Night. An animated home crowd, the second sellout of the season at the Petersen Events Center for this clash between old Big East rivals. 

Transition Opens Offense

The Panthers were at their best when they were running. Playing in transition helped them find shots before Syracuse could set the zone - although they shredded that too - but they built a big lead in a hurry by beating the Orange down the floor. 

Pitt jumped out to a 9-2 lead with a dunk from Federiko Federiko off a turnover, a fastbreak layup from Nike Sibande and a quick pull-up 2-pointer from Nelly Cummings. They scored 21 points off turnovers and 15 points on fast breaks. Before the 3-pointer barrage began in the second half, Pitt used its speed to capitalize on Syracuse's missed shots and miscues. 

Red Hot Hinson

Blake Hinson is heating up at the right time. Over his last four games entering the matchup with Syracuse, he had averaged 15.8 points per game while making 41.2% of his three-point shots and he certainly improved on those marks after making six of 17 3-point attempts and scoring 22 points to go with six rebounds to boot. 

His scoring had taken a slight decline in January and February but he is back to being the same ultra-confident shooter that feels his range is limitless. Head coach Jeff Capel said sometimes he does have to remind Hinson that he should "slow down" on Saturday night but more often than not, he's comfortable with Hinson's deep attempts because he can make those shots and when he does, he makes them in bunches. 

Cummings' Closing Act

Nelly Cummings grew up in the Petersen Events Center, watching great Pitt teams of the past from the stands and even working out with them as a kid playing AAU in the back gyms of the building. He finally got to wear the uniform of his hometown team this season and closed his time playing in his hometown with a masterpiece. 

He scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and recorded 13 assists to just one turnover. Cummings had a large contingent of family and friends make the short trip from Midland, Pennsylvania to see him play in his final home game as a Panther and he put on a show for them.  

Sharing the Wealth

The Panthers didn't reach very deep into their bench against Syracuse, but their seven-man rotation was balanced and effective. Six of the seven players to see the floor scored in double figures, four made multiple 3-pointers and three had more than five rebounds. It was a complete team effort for Pitt. 

The Panthers played good team defense, forcing the Orange into 11 costly turnovers, they executed their offense to perfection against the zone, assisting on 27 of their 32 made buckets, scoring on 63% of their possessions and averaging 1.523 points per possession. 

Crazy Crowd Doesn't Bother Boeheim

Pitt fans sold out this game early and filled the stands quickly. The Oakland Zoo was full more than an hour prior to tip-off and subjected Syracuse players to relentless jeers during warmups. Students brought fake money with Syracuse head coach Jim Boehiem's face photoshopped in the center and booed him constantly over the course of the game. Boeheim's faced plenty of hostile crowds at the Petersen Events Center, so this was nothing new for him. 

“I would say it was exactly the same as the last time we played here when they had a full house," Boeheim said. "It’s been a while.”

Boeheim went on to say the atmosphere didn't bother him at all and that he didn't think his comments from earlier this month, which claimed Pitt "bought" players from the transfer portal to fill this current roster. 

“They’re a good crowd," Boeheim said. "They always have been. It doesn’t bother mean. I mean, come on. Seriously?”

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