Syracuse, Pitt in critical stretch for ACC tourney berths

Pittsburgh's leading scorer Jaland Lowe is expected to return when the Panthers host Syracuse on Tuesday night with both teams scrambling for position in the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

Lowe, a sophomore guard, missed Pitt's victory over Miami on Saturday with concussion-like symptoms after a collision in the loss at SMU on Feb. 11.

"I would think there's a really good chance that he would play on Tuesday," Panthers coach Jeff Capel said, "but I'm not exactly sure yet."

Lowe is averaging 16.5 points per game, nearly seven points more than he averaged last season.

The Panthers (15-10, 6-8 ACC) need all the help they can get. Pitt enters Tuesday's contest in a four-way tie for ninth in the ACC after losing eight of its last 11 games. The top nine teams get a first-round bye in the conference tournament in Charlotte.

Syracuse (11-15, 5-10) is hanging on to the last spot for the ACC tournament where 15 of the 18 teams will qualify. It's been an injury-plagued season in Syracuse. The Orange lost promising freshman Donnie Freeman for the season to a right foot injury and JJ Starling missed multiple games earlier this season with a broken left hand.

The Orange have lost six of their last eight, including an 88-82 loss to North Carolina on Saturday.

"We just have to clean some stuff up and keep working hard and moving forward and continue to try to develop and do things that we need to do to win," second-year Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said.

Starling, a junior guard, is averaging a team-high 18.7 points in starting all 19 games he has played. Senior center Eddie Lampkin Jr. had a season-high 26 in Saturday's loss. The biggest issue for the Orange has been a defense that allows 78.6 points a game, which is 17th in the ACC.

"In certain situations, when we needed to get a stop, we didn't get the stop," Autry said on Saturday. "That was kind of a theme. When we needed rebounds, we didn't get them."

Syracuse outrebounded Pitt 48-31 in the teams' first meeting Jan. 25, but the visiting Panthers prevailed 77-73. Pitt committed only three turnovers in that game while Lowe had 22 points.

With Lowe out against Miami last Saturday, Capel inserted true freshman Brandin Cummings into the starting lineup. Cummings had 11 points in 33 minutes.

"I love everything he did," Capel said. "He's a tough, competitive dude. I thought he made some really good decisions. He stepped up. He wasn't afraid."

--Field Level Media