What Did We Learn From Syracuse at Pitt?

When you watch last night's game between the Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers there are a few things that you could have taken from it. Entering the game there were some questions about rankings and ratings and what not, and the level of play was one that answered those questions. There were also things that we learned that we might not have been asking the questions to.

The first thing is that both of these teams have a wonderful shot to get to Houston for the Final Four. Pittsburgh has been a top 8 team all year, dropping that low only following their loss to Tennessee and climbing back to now number four in the country since. Syracuse began at 10 or 11 depending on your poll, and has continued to rise to three without suffering a loss prior to last night. Last night we saw that when these two teams are playing the way they are capable of that they can beat anyone.

Pittsburgh came out as hot as a team could be on both sides of the ball, and Syracuse unfortunately came out looking like a scared team that could not do anything right, and it led to a 19-0 hole. Then when they turned it on they were able to go on a 17-0 run in the house of one of the five best teams in America. That tells me these two teams can reach the level of unstoppable against anyone, and when they are on you do not want to play them.

Secondly, I think we learned that Pittsburgh is the most disciplined team in the country, and Jamie Dixon, despite what Jim Calhoun and Steve Fisher are doing, should probably be the leading candidate for Coach of the Year. He gets everything from his players, and seems to always have them in the right positions doing the right things.

The reason they were able to win last night was because of how trained they were to beat the zone. They were getting the ball to the foul line and making plays. They seamlessly got the ball to the short corner and attacked the basket, only to show how well coached they are by making the right decision almost every time.

Next thing we learned was that Syracuse, despite their early season scores and close calls, and what Jim Boeheim has been saying, Syracuse is definitely in that top tier of schools. You look at the close games they had with teams like North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, and William and Mary and you think that this team might not be good as their ranking and their record. But if you watched last night, without their leading scorer and probably most talented player, they went toe-to-toe with possibly the best team in the nation and almost beat them on their floor. These Orange are going to be a team that will make a run in the tournament.

That Pittsburgh is probably the deepest team in the nation, feeling very confident going four to five guys deep both on the perimeter and on the front line. They have the ability to bring their 10th and maybe even their 11th man off the bench and be able to compete, and that is incredible, and by far the deepest team I have seen this year, and maybe back to the UCONN team with guys like Rudy Gay, Charlie Villanueva and Marcus Williams.

They have reserves that would start at probably 10 of the other schools in the Big East, the top conference in the nation. Dante Taylor, Travon Woodall and Talib Zanna are the future for Pittsburgh and they would be the now for many teams.

We also learned that Syracuse one heck of a freshman class and bright future. You look at the way that Fab Melo could play in their previous game against Cincinnati when he got into the flow and you see some promise, along with the way Baye Moussa-Keita has played early in the season and you see potential with the bigs. Then last night, in that hostile environment when the team was in a hole early without Kris Joseph, and you see CJ Fair step up the way he did and lead the team in scoring and you can not help but be impressed. The way Dion Waiters came in off the bench and played a really solid all around game. These freshman can play and they are going to certainly be ready for the tournament given they have 12 more games before even the Big East Tournament, and that makes Syracuse that much more dangerous. Boeheim saw last night he can count on those two, along with James Southerland who was seldom used as a freshman and is coming into his own.

The last thing we learned is that Rick Jackson is playing as well as he is in the wrong year, because if it were not for Kemba Walker he would be the Player of the Year in the Big East. Last night against the top rebounding team in the nation he went up time and time again and was able to get board after board on his way to his 12th double double of the season. He was at times rebounding one on three and winning. then to start the second half the Orange continually went to him down low, and he backed down the bigger Pitt defenders and was able to score with exceptional strength. We learned last night that Rick Jackson is not just doing this against the Morgan States, but he can do it against the best of the best.

So these teams may see one another again in the Big East Tournament, or in the NCAA's, or not at all. But last night definitely proved that they are both teams that have a legit shot at going to Houston, and that other teams should not want to see them on their schedules.