Vulnerable Syracuse defense presents favorable matchup for Pitt

Syracuse living up to its defensive reputation Saturday afternoon at JMA Wireless Dome would bode well for Pitt snapping its frustrating four-game losing streak.

The Orange should not be proud of that reputation.

This season, Syracuse (9-10, 3-5 ACC) is allowing opposing shooters to make 45.8% of their field goals, which ranks 15th among ACC programs.

Only twice through their 19 games have the Orange held an opponent to a sub-40% conversion rate.

Looking to exploit that will be the Panthers (12-6, 3-4), who boast the No. 3 (47.3%) team shooting percentage in the league.

“We have an expectation for ourselves of what we want to do and what we need to do,” sophomore guard Jaland Lowe said. “I think we’re just determined to really go out there and play to the best of our ability. The goal is always to win the game, so we’re going to try our hardest to do that.”

This week, Lowe took ownership of some of Pitt’s recent struggles.

While Lowe continues to lead the team in scoring (17.3 points per game) as well as assists (103), ball security has emerged as a needed area of improvement.

In Pitt’s loss to Florida State on Jan. 15 — the third of the four consecutive losses — Lowe had a career-high eight turnovers.

During this ongoing slump, Lowe is averaging 4.5 turnovers per game.

“I don’t think I’ve played to the best of my ability at all over the last week,” Lowe said. “I feel like I always do better. When you lose, it’s on the point guard. I got no problem taking the blame.

“It’s on me, for sure, but I’ve got another level I can take my game to and my teammates also got another level they can take their game to. I’m going to do the best to get that out of myself and out of my teammates.”

Pitt’s issues of late don’t fall solely on Lowe’s shoulders.

A team that’s averaging 80.4 points per game has not reached that threshold since Jan. 4, predating the losing streak.

Granted, a season-low 47 points against Duke on Jan. 7 throws off Pitt’s overall offensive numbers during the skid.

Regardless, Pitt travels to Syracuse hoping to be better in terms of offensive execution.

“I think just making your presence felt early,” senior guard Ish Leggett said. “Strong plays, nothing weak, everything confident. Confidence is a big piece. Confident, strong and on the offensive side and defensive side, we know what we have to do. Same thing, pretty much.”

Added Lowe: “Executing plays, play faster, offensive rebounds, things like that. Just make everything sharp. That’s just what it is. If you play sharp, everything will be all right. You’ll live with the consequences on offense, but (on) defense, we’ve got to be bullies.”

As Lowe and Leggett suggested, the Panthers won’t be able to simply shoot their way out of this funk.

Syracuse leading scorer J.J. Starling (19.0 points per game) will need to be accounted for, while Orange big men Eddie Lampkin (8.3) and Donnie Freeman (7.9) are among the ACC’s best rebounders, ranking fourth and eighth in the league.

The Panthers enjoyed a productive week of practice while idle from games following last Saturday’s overtime loss at home to Clemson.

Players hope it soon will translate to their first win in three weeks.

“We’re in a slump right now,” Lowe said. “Whole world knows it. In order to get out of that slump, you need some energy, you need some determination, you need some fight. In practice, that’s what we’ve been doing getting ready for Saturday.”