Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
WAER works hard to bring you award-winning sports coverage in Central New York. With a Sports staff of more than 20 people, you get comprehensive coverage of Syracuse University Football, Men's Basketball, and Men's Lacrosse. The best play by play on the air combined with regular morning and afternoon sports updates make WAER the source for sports in Central New York. See the legacy video here. See what it's like being in WAER Sports00000176-de2c-dce8-adff-feeff0ff000000000176-de2c-dce8-adff-feeff0ff0003

Syracuse and Pittsburgh Playing For Their NCAA Tournament Lives in ACC Tournament

Syracuse University Athletics
/
Cuse.com

The Syracuse Orange (19-12 Overall, 9-9 ACC) face the Pittsburgh Panthers (20-10, 9-9) in the first-round of the ACC tournament at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. This will be the third meeting between the two teams, with Pittsburgh being victorious in the first two by scores of 72-61 and 66-52. This game is essentially a NCAA Tournament elimination game, as both teams find themselves right on the bubble for the big dance.

Tournament Standing

SU vs. Pitt: Countdown to Tipoff @ 11:30a.; Play by Play @ 12:00n on WAER FM 88.3

  As of Monday, March 7th, the Orange are currently projected as one of the Last Four In and would be slated for a play-in game—kudos to the NCAA for getting this right and changing the name back to the First Four for the play-in games instead of saying it was the First-Round—in the East bracket, according to ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi. On the other hand, Pittsburgh is currently in the Last Four Byes. A loss for either team would all but shatter their tournament hopes, making this game one of the most intriguing of championship week.

Who’s Hot- Tyler Lydon

Lydon has found his game in a big way recently; in his last four games, the freshman has shot 56% from the field, while shooting 38% from three. Lydon’s ability to stretch the floor—especially when the team goes small and he is playing the 5—makes the Orange a dangerous offensive team, even if they might suffer on the defensive end; they can run-and-gun with almost any team in the country when he plays the 5 and is shooting well. Lydon received six votes for the ACC Sixth Man of the Year award, a prestigious honor for a freshman who is only getting better.

Credit Syracuse University Athletics / Cuse.com
/
Cuse.com
Trevor Cooney has struggled for the Orange recently. They need him to turn it around if they want to make the NCAA tournament.

Who’s Not- Trevor Cooney

If the Orange fail to make the NCAA tournament, many fans will point to Cooney’s poor shooting over the last few games—specifically, his horrid shooting performance against Florida State on Saturday—as the main reason why. While it is unfair to criticize one player for the team losing three out of four, it wouldn’t be completely off-base. Cooney’s shooting has gone ice cold recently; in his last 10 games, Cooney has shot 33-of-117 for a FG% of 28%. More recently, Cooney’s three-point shot has evaporated. In his last five games, Cooney has only shot 25% from deep. Cooney does log a ton of minutes, something that might be wearing him down during this stretch run. Make no mistake about it, though, the Orange need Cooney to snap out of this funk if they want to avoid missing the tournament for the second straight season.  After Florida State, Cooney 

"There's other things you've got to do when your offense isn't is good.  You've got to rebound; you've got to play defense.  We've got to just clean up the little things.   We're going to shoot the ball well, we're going to get better on offense."

Third Times the Charm?

Pittsburg has already beaten the Orange twice; in both games, the Panthers have held the Orange to under 35% shooting from three. There was a short period of time during the middle of the season when Syracuse became less reliant on threes. This, however, is not the case anymore, as the Orange need to consistently hit their outside shots in order to compete due to their lack of offense up front.

With that being said, the Orange has an advantage for this game. It is extremely hard, in any sport, to beat a team three times in one season, especially a conference rival where there are no secrets about what the other team wants to do. If the Orange can finally hit their threes and compete on the glass—Pitt has outrebounded the Orange 86-48 in the two matchups this year—they will have a chance against the Panthers.

Key Matchup- Lydon and Coleman vs. Young and Artis

In the first matchup between these two conference foes, Lydon and DaJuan Coleman combined for seven points and five rebounds in 47 minutes. Compare that to Jamel Artis and Michael Young—Pitt’s main frontcourt duo—who dropped a combined 33 points and 16 rebounds in 68 minutes. Lydon dropped a career-high 21 points in the second matchup while Coleman had 8, but Artis matched Lydon and Young matched Coleman in terms of point production, while the latter duo had 24 rebounds while the former only had 9. This game will be decided by which duo can control the glass while chipping in offensively.

Speaking after the Florida State game, Coach Jim Boeheim thought defense played strong enough to win, but the other side of the court was the problem.

"I just think our offense let us down in the second half.  They're (FSU) going to score points.  I thought in the first half we had some open shots we generally make.  In the second half we just didn't get enough done. I don't fault our defense at all."