PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh ended Syracuse’s five-game win streak on Saturday taking down the Orange, 80-75, at the Petersen Events Center. The Orange (16-10, 8-5 Atlantic Coast) came within three points in the second half but never fully closed the gap on the Panthers (14-11, 3-9).

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Tyler Lydon shut down inside

Pittsburgh did a tremendous job denying entry passes to Lydon in the low post. First it was Pitt’s Chris Jones fronting Lydon down low and later in the first half, the duty shifted to Jamel Artis. Either way, Lydon was stopped as he finished the first half with one shot and zero points. He’s proved in past games that he can still help the offense when he’s not scoring, but the Orange can’t afford the Panthers rendering Lydon invisible.

Lydon scored his first 3-pointer of the game with 12:30 remaining. The shot brought Syracuse within eight points. As the Orange tried clawing back, Lydon had to get going offensively. But he never quite got into a consistent rhythm, most notably when he airballed a jumper from the free-throw line.

Taurean Thompson’s foul trouble plagues Syracuse

Thompson picked up three first-half fouls, severely limiting his playing time. After the first 20 minutes, Syracuse trailed by seven, but Thompson was the Orange’s only player with a positive plus-minus rating. In the 10 minutes he played, he was effective, shooting 2-for-2 from the field and contributing to SU’s success. But when he was forced to sub out due to fouls, Syracuse struggled.

Lydon bumped to center and was less influential in the middle of Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone than he’s been in past games. Throughout the second half, Lydon played at center and Tyler Roberson played the power forward spot while Thompson found himself on the bench.

Thompson subbed in with about two minutes remaining to give Syracuse an offensive spark, but he airballed a fadeaway jumper right after coming in.

Boarded up

Syracuse got smashed on the boards early and often. Pitt had a 26-9 advantage in the rebounding department in the first half. That prevented Syracuse from extending its possessions and did the opposite for the Panthers.

The trend continued in the second half and the Orange failed to score on second-chance points. SU lost the rebounding battle, 41-25, and no Syracuse player had more than six rebounds. Roberson, the Orange’s best rebounder, was ineffective as many opportunities he had to grab the ball slipped through his hands.

Published on February 11, 2017 at 3:06 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds