Pittsburgh @ Syracuse preview

Pittsburgh at Syracuse

Last Meeting ( Feb 26, 2020 ) Syracuse 72, Pittsburgh 49

The Syracuse Orange and the Pittsburgh Panthers -- two teams desperate to play a game -- will meet in an ACC contest Wednesday night in Syracuse, N.Y.

Syracuse is on a roll -- 6-1 overall, 5-0 at home and 1-0 in the league. But the Orange haven't played since Dec. 19. Due to COVID-19, games against Notre Dame, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Florida State were all postponed.

Pitt has also played well -- 5-2 overall, 2-0 on the road and 1-1 in the ACC. But the Panthers haven't played since Dec. 22 due to COVID postponements against Duke and Notre Dame.

So when the Panthers were offered the chance to visit Syracuse, the match was made.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said he has been forced to cancel between 25 and 30 practices since the start of the season, due to the virus and contact tracing.

"It's an incredible amount," Boeheim said. "Our practices have been good, but there's nothing like playing games."

Pitt coach Jeff Capel is set to coach his first game since Dec. 16, as he has missed time with his own positive COVID-19 test. But his team is far from full strength as his best player, Justin Champagnie, is out for several weeks due to a knee injury.

In addition, Capel expects two or three of his players -- he would not specify beyond that -- will be missing Wednesday due to COVID issues. In fact, Pitt is expected to have just nine of its 13 scholarship players available.

This has been a tough stretch for the Panthers. They were on the bus headed to the airport on Dec. 29 to play Duke. They felt they had a great game plan. Their practices had been sharp. The game was postponed.

"Our kids were extremely disappointed," Capel said. "We were ready."

It remains to be seen how ready the Panthers will be on Wednesday. Their most recent game was a 64-54 loss to Louisville, and they have not won a game since beating Miami 70-55 on Dec. 16.

Without Champagnie, who is fifth in the ACC in scoring (17.8), the Panthers are led by Au'Diese Toney and Xavier Johnson. Toney, who is listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury, is averaging 16.2 points. Johnson is averaging 14.4 points and is tied for first in the league in assists (5.1).

Syracuse, which has won three straight games, is led by Quincy Guerrier and Alan Griffin. Guerrier is third in the ACC in scoring (18.0) and Griffin is eighth (16.6), three spots ahead of Toney.

Guerrier is second in the league in rebounding (10.0), behind only Champagnie, who will soon drop off the chart due to his inactivity. Griffin is eighth in rebounds (7.6) and third in 3-point percentage (38.8).

--Field Level Media