Pittsburgh @ Syracuse preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 13, 2019 ) Pittsburgh 59, Syracuse 73

Syracuse has climbed back into the ACC race with three big road victories during a four-game winning streak and looks to ride the wave with four of the next five slated for the Carrier Dome, starting with a visit from Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. The Orange began their recent string of road succes with an overtime win at Virginia on Jan. 11 before knocking off Virginia Tech 71-69 last Saturday and Notre Dame 84-82 on Wednesday to move into a tie for fourth in the league.

Junior forward Elijah Hughes tops the league in scoring (19.7 points), freshman guard Joseph Girard III leads the nation in free-throw shooting percentage (96.2) and Buddy Boeheim has an ACC-most 67 made 3-pointers, including 12 while his hair has grown during Syracuse’s streak. “Before the Virginia game, I said to myself, ‘I’m not getting a haircut until we lose again,” Boeheim told the Post Standard. “Four in a row. I’m going to give some credit to that.” Pittsburgh also appears to be on the rise in the ACC after winning the last two games, but it coughed up a late eight-point lead against Boston College on Wednesday before junior guard Ryan Murphy’s basket with four seconds remaining won it. “We’re trying to build winning habits,” Panthers coach Jeff Capel told reporters after the latest victory. “It’s something collectively as a group we don’t have. I don’t know if it’s youth, inexperience, inexperience with the success, but the bottom line is we don’t have it. You get a lead and human nature tells you, ‘OK, I can relax now. I can take this possession off.’ In our game, momentum can change very quickly.”

TIME: Noon ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (13-6, 4-4 ACC): Murphy (10.7 points) is 9-of-15 from the field over the last two games after shooting 25 percent in the previous three games - two of them losses. “Shooters, you’ve just got to focus,” said Murphy, who is 8-for-15 from 3-point range the past three contests. “Like I say all the time, stick with what you do and shots are going to fall. They’re just going in right now. It’s a great feeling every time it’s leaving my hand.” Trey McGowens leads the balanced Panthers in scoring (13.4), while fellow sophomore guard Xavier Johnson adds 12 points and a team-best 5.2 assists per game - including a career-high tying 10 against BC.

ABOUT SYRACUSE (12-7, 5-3): Girard averages 12.2 points and has made all 15 free throws attempted in the last six games, improving to 50-of-52 on the season, prompting coach Jim Boeheim to tell reporters: “We haven’t had too many freshmen point guards do what he’s done.” Hughes adds a team-high 4.2 assists and scored 26 points at Notre Dame, while Buddy Boeheim averages 15.9 points and matched a career best with 26 in the win at Virginia Tech last weekend. Junior forward Marek Dolezaj (9.8 points, team-high 7.3 rebounds per game) has registered double-figure boards in three of his last four contests for the Orange, who have won five straight in the series - including three last season.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pittsburgh freshman G Justin Champagnie leads the team in rebounding (6.9) and posted his fourth double-double (17 points, 10 boards) on Wednesday.

2. Hughes, Boeheim and Girard have combined to make 167 of Syracuse’s 178 3-pointers and the trio’s accuracy rate is 38.3 percent

3. Panthers sophomore G Au'Diese Toney, who averages 7.3 points, scored a season-high 16 on 7-of-9 shooting from the field Wednesday.

PREDICTION: Syracuse 76, Pittsburgh 68