Orange Face Pittsburgh on the Road Saturday

Game Details: Saturday, January 10, Pittsburgh, PA, 2:00 p.m.
Live Stream: ACC Network
Live Coverage: Stats
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Syracuse (10-5, 1-1 ACC) and Pittsburgh (7-8, 0-2 ACC) will renew a rivalry spanning over a century this weekend when the two meet at the Petersen Events Center.

Keep it Rolling
The Orange earned their first ACC win of the season earlier this week, defeating Georgia Tech 82-72 in Atlanta in their first true road game of the year. Syracuse handled the hostile environment and now stays on the road to face Pittsburgh.

Sophomore Donnie Freeman had a career night, scoring a career-high 27 points and adding three blocks to go with a team-best nine boards. He helped the Orange open a sizable lead to start the second half, scoring 11 of Syracuse's first 12 points coming out of the break. Since returning from injury, Freeman has totaled a team-high 45 points over his last two games while pulling down nine rebounds in each.

Former Yellow Jacket junior Naithan George made his return to Atlanta, going for 17 points and dishing out five assists in the triumph. He was crucial in closing out the win, going 4-of-4 from the free throw line during the final 30 seconds to finish off the game. He finished the evening a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe.

George has seen an uptick in scoring recently, averaging 16.6 points across his last five appearances. He has played a key role in running the offense all year, owning 75 assists so far, the ninth most of any player in the ACC this season.

Five different players connected on 3-pointers against Georgia Tech. Joining Freeman and George from deep were freshman Kiyan Anthony with two triples and sophomore Tyler Betsey and senior Nate Kingz with one apiece.

Defensive Dominance
The Orange enter the weekend as the ACC's top scoring defense, holding opponents to just 65.3 points per game this year. The Orange are one of just three ACC teams yet to allow 1,000 points this year, alongside North Carolina and Duke.

Syracuse forces just shy of 14 turnovers per contest. The turnover battle played a major role in the Orange's win over Tennessee last month when they forced 17 Volunteer turnovers. George leads the Orange with 23 steals and has recorded at least one in the last nine contests.

Senior William Kyle III is a big reason for the notable start on defense, boasting 46 blocks through 15 appearances, tied for the second most in the nation. His 3.07 per-game average is tied for first among Division I performers. He has not gone a game without a block yet this season and has recorded multiple blocks in 12 contests. His 46 blocks comfortably leads the ACC, with Virginia's Johann Grünloh the next closest with 38. At 6-foot-9, Kyle III is the Orange's leading rebounder with 120 on the year.

Scouting Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 7-8 this season and is seeking its first ACC win after suffering losses to Miami and Clemson. While the Panthers offense averages 73.3 points per contest, their defense has kept them in games, as they've limited foes to just 68.7 points on average.

Pittsburgh closed out non-conference play with a pair of dominant wins, topping Binghamton, 103-63, before trouncing in-state rival Penn State, 80-46. The Panthers have lost their two ACC matchups so far, both by single digit margins.

Senior Cameron Corhen has been the Panthers' most reliable option offensively, scoring 13.3 points per game. Corhen leads Pitt in rebounding as well, grabbing more than eight per contest thus far. He has scored in double digits in both of the Panthers' ACC contests so far. Corhen is in his second season with Pittsburgh after spending the first two years of his career at Florida State.

Senior Barry Dunning Jr. has seen an expanded role in the past few weeks, starting in each of the past nine games for Pitt. Since making his way into the starting rotation, Dunning Jr. has averaged 15.2 points in the role. Fifth-year guard Damarco Minor has served as a threat from the perimeter for Pittsburgh, having drilled 30-of-72 (.417) shots from 3-point range this season. Minor was teammates with Syracuse's Nate Kingz at Oregon State a year ago.

The Panthers are led by Jeff Capel, former Duke guard and longtime assistant at his alma mater. Capel is in his eighth year at the helm of the Pittsburgh program, having racked up a 121-115 record up to this point. He took the Panthers back to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 as an at-large bid, winning a play-in game against Mississippi State before winning a Round of 64 matchup against Iowa State. Capel is 7-8 against Syracuse in his career.

Prior to Pittsburgh, Capel was also the head coach at Oklahoma, taking the Sooners to an Elite Eight in 2009 while helping develop Blake Griffin into the National Player of the Year. He started his head coaching career with a four-year stint at VCU before serving as Mike Krzyewski's assistant coach at Duke for seven seasons following his time at Oklahoma (2011-18).

Series History
The Orange and Panthers are familiar foes, having met 128 times since their first meeting in 1914, a 36-29 Syracuse victory. The two programs have faced off annually since 1982, with Syracuse leading the all-time series 76-52.

Pittsburgh swept last year's series.

Syracuse Tickets
Season and individual tickets are available at cuse.com/feature/basketball-tickets

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Players Mentioned

Kiyan Anthony

Tyler Betsey

Donnie Freeman

Naithan George

Nate Kingz

William Kyle III

Syracuse University Athletics