Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN rivalry week continues, pitting the No. 1 Syracuse Orange (23-0, 10-0 ACC) against the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers (20-4, 8-3 ACC) on Pitt's home court. Live stream the game by clicking this link; Orange fans can find the radio broadcast on The Score 1260, while Pitt fans can listen to the game on 93.7 The Fan.
While Syracuse is generally among the better teams in the country on an annual basis, this year's success has come as a surprise to some. "I knew we'd have a good team at the end of the year, but in the summertime I didn't think we'd be the No. 1 team in the country," star swingman C.J. Fair said. Fair entered the season as a preseason favorite to win the ACC Player of the Year award, and has lived up to the hype by leading the 'Cuse in scoring with 16.8 points per game.
Orange head coach Jim Boeheim is expecting a grind-it-out game, which runs counter to what has made them successful this year. "Every game we have in this league is difficult," Boeheim said. "We've been in tough games. We know it will be tough. We like to run, but people are going to do what they've been doing. We can't force tempo if someone wants to do this (slow the pace)."
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon made no secret of how the Panthers plan on beating Syracuse's vaunted zone defense. "You gotta get fouls on them," Dixon said. "I don't think it'll change a lot of what we do. Unless we get foul trouble on their starting center, it won't really change too many things."
The Panthers have shown vulnerability lately, getting beat by Duke and Virginia while struggling mightily to get past Virginia Tech. "You don't play great every game, but we played well at the end," Dixon said. "I thought we showed a lot of character, and that's most important."
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