Syracuse Back Home Saturday To Face Pittsburgh

Game Details: Saturday, Jan. 25, Syracuse, N.Y., 12:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Live Coverage: Stats
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Syracuse (9-10, 3-5 ACC) returns home to the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday for a pairing with Pittsburgh (12-6, 3-4 ACC). Tip-off is set for 12:30 p.m. and the game will air live on ESPN2.

Setting The Stage
Syracuse is back at the Dome after falling at Clemson on Wednesday night, 86-72. J.J. Starling led the Orange with 25 points and Eddie Lampkin Jr. had 14 points and nine rebounds, finishing just one board shy of a fifth straight double-double. The Orange outscored Clemson, who is currently tied for second in the ACC standings, in the second half, 43-38.

Pittsburgh is coming off an overtime loss against Clemson last weekend, falling 78-75 at Petersen Events Center. Ishmael Legget led the Panthers with 18 points and Zack Austin had a team-high seven rebounds. Pittsburgh is currently on a four-game losing streak with three of the four defeats coming against the current top three teams in the conference standings.

The Panthers are led by head coach Jeff Capel, who is in his seventh season at the helm of the program. Under Capel, Pittsburgh has won 20-plus games in each of the last two seasons.

The Syracuse-Pittsburgh Series
In a series dating back to 1914, Syracuse holds a 76-50 lead all-time versus Pittsburgh. Syracuse is 23-14 against the Panthers at the Dome, which included an 81-73 home victory last season. The Orange also defeated Pittsburgh on the road, 69-68, to complete a season sweep of the Panthers in 2023-24.

Pittsburgh is Syracuse's third most familiar opponent, as Saturday will mark the 127^th all-time meeting between the teams. The only teams Syracuse has faced more than Pittsburgh are Colgate (176) and Cornell (129).

Welcome Back, J.J.
Starling has picked up where he left off since returning from his injury, as Syracuse's leading scorer has recorded double figures in five of his six appearances since rejoining the lineup. He is averaging 18.2 points per contest over that span.

In Syracuse's loss against Clemson, Starling led the Orange with 25 points. He went 10-of-16 on field goal attempts and made a season-high five 3-pointers. It was his fourth game with 20-plus points since returning from injury.

Starling is averaging 19 points per outing on the campaign. His 38 points from the Orange's double-overtime victory against Youngstown State were a career high and the second most by any ACC player in a game this season.

Double-Double Threat
Entering Wednesday's clash against Clemson, Lampkin Jr. had registered a double-double in four consecutive contests, but he fell one rebound short of extending the streak against the Tigers. However, he tallied a team-high nine boards in the contest and added 14 points on a 7-of-12 night from the field.

The double-double streak began against Georgia Tech, when Lampkin Jr. had 10 points and 12 boards. The center then matched his season high with 13 rebounds at Boston College and added 10 points in that encounter. An 11-point, 10-rebound effort against Louisville prolonged the streak to three games. He extended the streak to four with 13 points and 11 rebounds versus Notre Dame.

The center leads the Orange with seven double-doubles on the campaign and has amassed double-digit rebounds in seven of the last nine games.

Reserve Contributions
Over the last three games, Syracuse's bench is averaging 26.7 points. Against the Tigers on Wednesday, Syracuse's reserves outscored Clemson's, 20-15, led by nine points from Kyle Cuffe Jr. and seven from Jaquan Carlos.

The best scoring effort from the Orange bench over the last three games came against Louisville, with Syracuse getting 36 points from its bench unit. Half of those points came from Chris Bell, who knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to an 18-point effort.

Crashing The Glass
As a team, Syracuse grabs 37.5 rebounds per contest, the fifth most in the ACC. The Orange boast a plus-2.7 margin on the season and have recorded double-digit offensive boards 11 times on the campaign.

Three different Syracuse players have pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game this season – Lampkin Jr. (nine times), Donnie Freeman (seven times) and Jyare Davis (one time). Lampkin is fourth in the conference in rebounding (8.3 per game) and has double-digit boards in seven of the last nine outings, while Freeman has hit double figures in two of his last three appearances.

Scouting Pittsburgh
Jaland Lowe is Pittsburgh leading scorer this season, as he averages 17.3 points per contest. Leggett (16.6) and Cameron Corhen (10.6) also average in double figures with Damian Dunn (9.9) close behind.

Lowe leads the conference in free throw percentage at 91-percent. His 103 assists this season rank No. 5 in the ACC. Lowe and Leggett rank Nos. 8 and 9 in the conference in points per game, respectively, and are also both in the top six in the ACC in steals per game.

Pitt has the best free throw percentage in the ACC at 79-percent. They rank No. 4 in the ACC in scoring with 80.4 points per game and are No. 3 in field goal percentage (47-percent). The Panthers also average the third most blocked shots in the ACC, rejecting 4.39 attempts per contest.

Freeman, Lampkin Jr. Make Preseason Watch Lists
Freeman is one of 20 players to make the preseason watch list for the 2025 Karl Malone Award, which recognizes the top power forwards in Division I men's basketball. Freeman, a McDonald's All-American and the second-highest Syracuse recruit in program history, is one of two freshmen to make this year's Malone Award watch list.
Freeman, who has missed the past five games due to injury, has registered six double-doubles on the campaign and is averaging 15.3 points over his last nine appearances. He has scored 15 or more in six games over that stretch.

Lampkin Jr. is one of 20 preseason watch-list candidates for the 2025 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes to the top center in men's college basketball. Lampkin Jr. is in his first year with the Orange and is averaging 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest with six double-doubles.

The list for both awards will be narrowed to 10 in late January, and then to just five in late February. In March, the five finalists for both awards will be presented to Abdul-Jabbar, Malone and the Hall of Fame's selection committee where winners will be selected.

Orange fans are encouraged to participate in three rounds of Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, on hoophallawards.com.

Tickets
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on X (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).

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Players Mentioned

Chris Bell

Jaquan Carlos

Kyle Cuffe Jr.

Donnie Freeman

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

J.J. Starling

Syracuse University Athletics