In a closely contested college basketball game, the Pittsburgh Panthers (9-3, 0-1) faced off against the Syracuse Orange (9-3, 0-1). Pre-game reports highlighted Pittsburgh's Blake Hinson as a key player, noting his impressive average of 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in last season's victories over Syracuse. As the game unfolded at the Dome, both teams demonstrated their strengths, with Pittsburgh showcasing a strong rebounding performance and Syracuse capitalizing on turnovers. The Panthers, with a starting lineup of Bub Carrington, Ishmael Leggett, Blake Hinson, Zack Austin, and Guillermo Diaz Graham, led at halftime with a score of 38-30, ending the first half on a 14-4 run. However, Syracuse, starting with Judah Mintz, JJ Starling, Chris Bell, Justin Taylor, and Naheem McLeod, fought back in the second half, taking the lead with a 14-2 run. The game remained tight, with the score at 65-61 in favor of Syracuse during the final media break. Pittsburgh struggled with free throws, shooting only 38% (5-of-13) from the line. The outcome of the game hinged on key performances and the ability to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the final minutes.
FINAL: Notre Dame 76, Virginia 54. Eye-popping result of the weekend. Notre Dame led by as many as 28. Never trailed. Entering today, Virginia had the No. 3-ranked defense at KenPom, Notre Dame had the No. 308-ranked offense. Cavaliers were 10-2, Irish were 5-7.
Virginia's 22-point loss to Notre Dame is its 4th-largest conference loss under Tony Bennett: 2017 at North Carolina by 24 2011 vs Maryland by 24 2010 at Clemson by 23 Sat. at Notre Dame by 22
Pitt is 2-of-9 from the free throw line in this half.
Cuse responds to Pitt tying the game by going on a 6-0 run.
This is a program in decline. https://t.co/QzBGV3JI83
Quadir Copeland: You take the good, you take the bad. He finds Brown for a dunk. Steals the ball and converts on the break. But then he forces a really bad shot in transition. SU leads 65-61 with 3:54 left.
There was more tackling on the last 2 possessions than we saw in the 2016 Pitt-Syracuse football game.
Final media break. Syracuse leads 65-61. Carrington will be at the line after the break comes to an end. Two huge foul shots for a Pitt team that is 7-of-16 from the line this afternoon.
Austin knocks down a triple. Capel takes a timeout. Syracuse leads Pitt 61-59 with 5:30 left. Let's see how much longer Capel waits to bring Jeffress back into the game.
Blake Hinson with 1-for-2 FTs. That's his first point of the 2nd half.
Final media timeout of the afternoon comes with 3:35 left as Notre Dame leads #UVa 71-46.
Pitt is now in the bonus with 6:19 left. These foul shots have to be taken advantage of.
UVA getting destroyed by Notre Dame was not what I was expecting. What’s wrong with the Cavs? #acc
Pitt is now 5-of-13 from the foul line. That's 38%.
Media break. Syracuse leads Pitt 56-52 with 7:57 remaining.
Well, now. Big buckets from Lowe and Austin give Pitt some life. Nine min left. Cuse leads by 2.
Guillermo Diaz Graham opened the second half scoring with a triple. Pitt has since been outscored 22-6.
A pretty lob from JJ Starling to Judah Mintz to give the Orange a 50-45 lead.
Wow. @NDmbb up 23 on Virginia. Big boost for Micah Shrewsberry's crew but what is up, Cavaliers?
Blake Hinson has scored 8 points on 3/12 shooting, including just 1/7 from three. Bub Carrington is playing well, but it feels like Hinson is going to have to do something for Pitt to win this game.
Under-12 media timeout and Pitt is down 48-45. The Panthers have made just 3 baskets in the first 8:35 of the second half; meanwhile, Syracuse has scored 18 points since halftime. Pitt has also been charged with 6 fouls this half.
Media break. Syracuse leads 48-45 with 11:25 remaining. Panthers have to start making shots. Pitt is shooting 23% from the field and is 1-of-8 from 3 this half.
SU leads 48-45 with 11:25 left. Pitt is 3-for-13 from the field this half.
Pitt ended the first half on a 14-4 run. Syracuse is currently on a 14-2 run. The Panthers have made just 2 baskets in the second half. Pitt trails Syracuse 44-43 with 13:31 left to play in the game.
Pitt ended the first half on a 14-4 run. Syracuse is currently on a 14-2 run. The Panthers have made just 2 baskets in the second half.
Hinson airballs. Pitt takes a much needed timeout. This place is rockin'. Syracuse leads 44-43 with 13:31 remaining. Panthers haven't made a shot in nearly four minutes.
Mintz knocks down a pair of foul shots to give Cuse its first lead since 6:21 left in the first half. Syracuse is on a 14-2 run. It leads Pitt 44-43 with just under 14 min left.
Remember: When this game ends, we'll be live for the Panther-Lair Post-Game. Tune in to talk about Pitt-Syracuse with your comments and questions. https://t.co/QZg0QxSfh8
Here come the Orange. Mintz knocked down a big triple to cut into Pitt's lead. A foul on Fede puts Cuse at the line with a chance to make this a one-score game with 15:39 remaining. Pitt led by as many as 11 early in the second half. Score is currently 43-39.
My first half takeaways: ➡️ Pitt might actually be *this* good at rebounding. Really impressed. ➡️ Hinson's vet experience was well on display. Drawing fouls on both ends, making smart passes, very good away from the basketball. ➡️ Lot's of highs and lows from Carrington.…
Pitt leads Syracuse 38-30 at halftime. Mostly a back-and-forth first half but the Panthers took control at the end of the half (partly thanks to a couple iffy calls). Stats below. Smoke if you got 'em. https://t.co/kuOewxMKSM
Halftime: Pitt 38, Syracuse 30 Pitt ends the first half on a 14-4 run over the final 5 minutes. Carrington had 5 points in that stretch - 2 on technical free throws plus a 3-pointer. Both teams finished the half with 10 TOs, but Pitt won the glass 22-15, including 9 on offense
Half: Pitt 38, Syracuse 30. Pitt ended half on 9-2 run. SU is 1-for-10 on 3s. Pitt with 8 2nd-chance points.
Notre Dame has only beaten Virginia by 5+ pts once all-time, when @NDmbb's beat UVA 71-58 in the 2017 ACC Tournament. The Fighting Irish lead the Cavaliers 41-24 at halftime. https://t.co/9Mgmx34Gyz
First half stats for Pitt and Syracuse https://t.co/yZlpro2ECo
At the end of the first half: Pitt -- 38 Syracuse -- 30 The Panthers were sloppy at times, but really locked in there at the end of the half. Great showings from Hinson and Jeffress. Carrington leads all scorers with 13 points.
Man, this has been a great final push for Pitt. The Panthers have outscored Cuse 14-4 in the past five minutes. Easily the best showing Capel's group has had in the stretch heading into a break. Rebounding, defense, shooting, all very good.
Timeout. Pitt leads Syracuse 29-26 with 4:17 left in the first half. Panthers continue to dominate on the glass, leading 20-11 in the rebound battle. Will Jeffress has seven (yes, you read that correctly) boards off the bench, so far.
Syracuse's offense has bogged down with 2 points in the last 4 minutes. Pitt leads 29-26 and SU coach Adrian Autry asks for a timeout.
Second chance points: Pitt 8, SU 0
Smart play there from Hinson. His team has been to the line just twice today. Cuse was a foul away from putting Pitt in the bonus. Blake drove to the rim and got a call.
Hard to ignore Pitt's dominance so far on the glass. Pitt has outrebounded Cuse 16-7. Panthers have eight offensive rebounds which have led to six second-chance points.
Under-8 timeout and it's tied at 24-24. Pitt's got 7 turnovers, which have led to 8 Syracuse points, but while Bub Carrington has committed 2 of those turnovers, he's also got 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Pitt is also up to 8 offensive rebounds and 6 second-chance points.
Game tied at 24. Pitt is doing damage on the boards with 16 rebounds to SU's 7. Pitt with 6 second-chance points.
Pitt is winning the rebounding battle in a big way: 16-7. But SU is outscoring the Panthers 8-0 in points off turnovers. We're tied at 24. Good game!
Media timeout. Pitt and Syracuse are tied at 24. The Panthers have looked good in numerous areas (outside shooting and offensive rebounding being the most notable), but turnovers have allowed the Orange to hang around.
That's now four turnovers in less than three minutes for Pitt.
Turnovers are hurting the Panthers. Pitt has turned the ball over six times in the first 10 minutes, with three of those six coming in the past two minutes.
Under-12 media timeout and Pitt is up 18-17, although Syracuse guard Quadir Copeland is going to the line for an and-1 after the break. Pitt is shooting 4/6 from beyond the arc, with three's from Carrington, Hinson, G. Diaz Graham and Austin.
Quadir Copeland with the 3 and the foul on Hinson. He'll shoot one FT after the timeout. Pitt up 18-17. Copeland was 0-9 on 3s this season until that shot.
Media break. Pitt leads Syracuse 18-17. Panthers are hot from the outside, shooting 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
Syracuse clearly thinks Pitt's defensive weakness is down low. The Orange are taking the ball to the hoop every possession. Haven't taken a single 3-pointer in the game's first five minutes.
Media break. Pitt trails Syracuse 12-11 with 15:17 left in the opening half. The Orange are winning in the paint, where they've already scored eight points. Pitt has been better outside, knocking down two triples in three attempts.
This is not your father's Syracuse-Pitt tempo
After allowing Cuse to score the game's first two baskets, Pitt responds with a 7-0 run. Carrington looks comfortable early on, despite tight defense from Mintz.
Starting lineups: Pitt (9-3, 0-1) 1. Bub Carrington 2. Ishmael Leggett 3. Blake Hinson 4. Zack Austin 5. Guillermo Diaz Graham Syracuse (9-3, 0-1) 1. Judah Mintz 2. JJ Starling 3. Justin Taylor 4. Chris Bell 5. Naheem McLeod
Here's Pitt's starting lineup for today's game at Syracuse. Zack Austin moves back into the starting five after two games working off the bench: Bub Carrington Ishmael Leggett Zack Austin Blake Hinson Guillermo Diaz Graham
Pittsburgh's starters v Syracuse: Blake Hinson, Ishmael Leggett, Carlton Carrington, Guillermo Diaz Graham and Zack Austin.
Game thread: Syracuse Orange (9-3) vs Pitt Panthers (9-3) https://t.co/ApjBAuIYFV via @NunesMagician
Syracuse's starting 5 v Pitt: Judah Mintz, JJ Starling, Chris Bell, Justin Taylor and Naheem McLeod.
Pitt starters today vs. Syracuse in the dome: Carrington, Hinson, Leggett, G. Diaz Graham and Austin
While he has hurt plenty of ACC opponents during his time at Pitt, Blake Hinson has played especially well against Syracuse. Hinson averaged 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the Panthers' two wins over the Orange last season.
Getting you ready for Syracuse’s game against Pittsburgh today at the Dome. https://t.co/ujp5wouFNi
Syracuse basketball vs. Pittsburgh: 5 Key Things to Know https://t.co/uQyFTTApAN https://t.co/XxklCfZfpg
Pitt's Blake Hinson feels the pulse of the team, provides the scoring touch it needs https://t.co/AgQ8nfBjOv
Syracuse men’s basketball: what to watch for vs Pittsburgh https://t.co/vzB34i9yiI via @NunesMagician
How good is the Pittsburgh team that #Syracuse is hosting on Saturday? We asked @JimHammett from @PantherLair for a full scouting report on the Panthers. https://t.co/rNrbuA9uH0