Orange Head To Pittsburgh For Rematch

Game Details: Tuesday, Feb. 18, Pittsburgh, Pa., 7 p.m.
TV: ACC Network
Live Coverage: Stats
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Syracuse (11-15, 5-10 ACC) heads to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night for a rematch against the Panthers (15-10, 6-8 ACC) at the Petersen Events Center. The contest is slated for a 7 p.m. tip and will air live on ACC Network.

Setting The Stage
The Orange fell just short, 88-82, in the final minute against North Carolina on Saturday despite a valiant effort that saw them close to within two points in the final minute. Eddie Lampkin Jr. registered his 11^th double-double of the season behind a career-high 26 points and a team-best 11 rebounds, while J.J. Starling took over in the second half, scoring 20 of his 22 points after intermission.

Pittsburgh enters Tuesday having lost eight of its last 11 outings but picked up a win Saturday at home over Miami, 74-65. Five Pittsburgh players scored in double figures, paced by Ishmael Leggett's 21 points. Both Leggett (21 points and 10 rebounds) and Zack Austin (11 points and 10 rebounds) finished with double-doubles.

Syracuse and Pittsburgh met at the JMA Wireless Dome on Jan. 25, with the Panthers holding on for a 77-73 triumph despite a career-best 23 rebounds from Lampkin. The Orange outrebounded Pittsburgh in that contest, 48-31.

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 76-51 lead all-time versus Pittsburgh. The series between the teams is tied in games played at Pittsburgh, with the Panthers holding a slight 10-8 advantage over the Orange at Petersen Events Center. However, the Orange came out with a 69-68 win at Petersen last season behind 10 makes from beyond-the-arc.

Pittsburgh is Syracuse's third most familiar opponent. The only teams Syracuse has faced more than Pittsburgh are Colgate (176) and Cornell (129).

Round Two
Pittsburgh prevailed, 77-73, in the first meeting between the teams at the Dome in January. The Orange jumped out to an early 15-7 advantage and took a one-point lead into halftime. With the game tied at 45 with just over 12 minutes remaining, the Panthers engineered an 8-0 run to take a lead they did not relinquish the rest of the contest.

Jaland Lowe led five Pittsburgh players in double figures with 22 points, with Leggett close behind with 16 points. Syracuse knocked down 11 3-pointers and outrebounded Pittsburgh by 17, which included a 20-9 edge on the offensive glass, but the Panthers forced 11 Orange turnovers and went 15-of-21 from the free throw line to secure the victory.

Lampkin's double-double was supplemented by four other Orange in double figures, led by Starling's team-high 16 points. Lucas Taylor and Chris Bell both added 12 with Petar Majstorovic scoring a career-best 10. Lampkin's 23 rebound performance included eight on the offensive glass.

Starling Starring
Starling has scored 20-plus points in three straight games, as he tallied 28 in the triple overtime win over Boston College, scored 25 last week against Miami and poured in 22 versus North Carolina on Saturday. He is averaging 25 points over the last three outings.

Starling surpassed 1,000 career points in Syracuse's victory at California earlier this month. The junior guard entered the night with 990 points and hit the 1,000 mark with a floater at the 15:09 mark of the second half. He finished that contest with 18 points. It took Starling 75 career games to reach the 1,000-point threshold, with the last 47 of those appearances coming with Syracuse after spending his freshman campaign at Notre Dame.

After missing seven games earlier this season due to injury, Syracuse's leading scorer has recorded double figures in 11 of his 13 appearances since rejoining the lineup. He is averaging 18.2 points per contest over that span.

Starling is averaging a team-best 18.7 points per outing on the campaign, the fourth most in the ACC this season through his 19 games played. 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.

Lampkin's Recent Leap
The last time Syracuse played Pittsburgh on Jan. 25, Lampkin Jr. became the first Syracuse player to tally 23 rebounds in a game since Derrick Coleman did so against Villanova on March 10, 1990, at the Big East Tournament. Only two Syracuse players have grabbed more rebounds in a single game than Lampkin Jr. – Frank Reddout with 34 versus Temple on Feb. 9, 1952, and Dave Bing with 25 against Cornell on Feb. 8, 1966.

Lampkin's 23-rebound performance is one of the top 10 efforts on the glass in Syracuse history. Additionally, his 15 defensive rebounds versus the Panthers were the sixth most in a single game in Orange history, with the all-time Syracuse record sitting at 16. The 23 rebounds were also the most by any ACC player in a game since Armando Bacot also had 23 for North Carolina against James Madison on Nov. 20, 2022.

Against Duke earlier this month, Lampkin Jr. hit another career milestone, as he became the second Syracuse player in as many games to surpass 1,000 career points, joining Starling. Lampkin Jr. reached the mark with a layup at the 2:05 mark of the first half. After spending the first four seasons of his career at TCU and Colorado, where he totaled the first 776 points of his career, he has notched 225 this season with the Orange. Lampkin Jr. reached 1,000 points in his 127^th career appearance, the last 23 of which have come with Syracuse.

Lampkin Jr. is averaging 11.3 rebounds over the past 16 contests and has posted a double-double in eight of the last 12 outings, which included Saturday against Miami North Carolina he set a career high with 26 points and added 11 boards. He has matched or set a career high in points in consecutive contests. For the season, Lampkin Jr. is averaging 11.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Crashing The Glass
As a team, Syracuse grabs 38.0 rebounds per contest, the fourth most in the ACC. The Orange boast a plus-3.3 margin on the season and have recorded double-digit offensive boards 15 times on the campaign, including in each of the last five games.

Three different Syracuse players have pulled down 10 or more rebounds in a game this season – Lampkin Jr. (14 times), Donnie Freeman (seven times) and Davis (one time). Lampkin is third in the conference in rebounding (9.5 per game) and has double-digit boards in 12 of the last 15 outings.

Scouting Pittsburgh
Lowe (16.5) and Leggett (16.1) both average over 16 points per contest to lead the Panthers, with Cameron Corhen (10.8) also averaging double figures. Lowe is the fourth most efficient free throw shooter in the ACC, with 109 makes on 126 attempts (87-percent). Zack Austin is Pittsburgh's top 3-point shooter with 45 makes from beyond-the-arc on the campaign.

Leggett also leads Pittsburgh in rebounding with 5.9 per outing and has three double-doubles this season. Lowe's 128 assists pace the Panthers and rank No. 5 in the conference. Austin is pacing the team with 43 blocks while Leggett has a team-high 44 steals.

As a team, Pittsburgh ranks No. 6 in the ACC in both points per game (77.2) and field goal percentage (46-percent). The Panthers sit atop the ACC in free throw percentage (79-percent) and hold the fourth best assist to turnover ratio in the conference (1.39). They also rank No. 2 in the ACC in blocks (112) and No. 5 in steals (181).

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

Donnie Freeman

Eddie Lampkin Jr.

Petar Majstorovic

J.J. Starling

Lucas Taylor

Syracuse University Athletics