Five Takeaways: Syracuse 77 Pittsburgh 61

What to make of the Orange's win over the Panthers.

Syracuse basketball knocked off Pittsburgh 77-61 Tuesday night to snap a three game losing streak. Here are five takeaways from the victory. 

1. Much Needed Win

Let's face it. There was a lot of negativity surrounding this program following the three game losing streak. The losses, the defensive lapses, fans growing more and more frustrated at the lack of wins, etc. The win was needed to get the team back in the right mindset, to remove mounting pressure as the losses piled up, to give the fans a little relief from those losses. A little sigh of relief. No it does not change the fact that Syracuse is 8-8. No the flaws are not suddenly gone. But the win was certainly needed by all parties. And hey, win streaks have to start somewhere, right?

2. Buddy Breaks Out of Shooting Slump

Buddy Boeheim was just 7-27 (26%) from the floor and 4-15 (27%) from three point range over the previous two games. Against Pittsburgh, however, Buddy was 7-13 (54%) overall and 5-8 (63%) from beyond the arc. Buddy looked confident shooting the ball from the get go. He made a couple of threes during Syracuse's decisive 26-5 run that spanned from the end of the first into the beginning of the second half. It was an encouraging sign as his shot has not looked that good for most of the season. Nothing was forced, he was getting open looks, and drilling them when he did. 

3. The Bench

Symir Torrence gave Syracuse 12 quality minutes. He scored four points, had one assist and one steal, but also ran the offense well. Good minutes from him. Frank Anselem played seven minutes and played good defense while rebounding well. Benny Williams only played four minutes due to missing a couple of defensive assignments. John Bol Ajak also saw some action in this one and gave the Orange four minutes. Bol Ajak did not score or grab a rebound, but he plays with energy, is another big body and sets screens very well. Coach Boeheim said after the game that Bol Ajak has been practicing at a high level and he earned some minutes. It will be interesting to see how those minutes are distributed moving forward, especially if Bol Ajak continues to impress during practice. 

4. Attacking the Basket

Syracuse did not shoot particularly well from the outside. The Orange was just 6-17 from three point range. Everyone not named Buddy Boeheim was 1-9 from deep. Syracuse was just 1-7 from three in the second half. Despite that, Syracuse still scored 77 points, shot 51% from the floor, and scored 42 points (seven more than the first half) in the second half. That was because Syracuse was 11-15 (73.3%) inside the arc in the second half. Syracuse dominated points in the paint 32-16. The Orange did a great job getting into the lane and getting looks at the rim. For as much as this team has a reputation as a perimeter oriented team, it was encouraging to see Syracuse have success inside. Jimmy Boeheim and Jesse Edwards were both good in there. 

5. Defense

The defense had its issues in the first half, no doubt. Pittsburgh shot 50% from the floor and 42% from three in that first half. In the second, however, Syracuse's defense was dramatically improved. The Orange allowed fewer open shots, rotated well, contested and made every shot a difficult one. Jim Boeheim called it the best defensive half they've played all season. Pittsburgh scored just 27 points, shoot 24% overall and 20% from three in the second half. Jesse was especially good in the second half, blocking shots, contesting shots and being disruptive in the lane. He was part of a defensive effort that held Pittsburgh star John Hugley to just eight points on 1-6 shooting. He came in as one of the best scoring bigs in the ACC at nearly 16 points per game. Given the defense Syracuse played against Wake Forest, this is another encouraging sign.