Pittsburgh Deals Syracuse Its Second Straight Loss

The unranked Pittsburgh Panthers took control in the second half and dealt the No. 6 Syracuse Orange their second consecutive loss, 65-55 on Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.

Although the Orange defeated Louisville when the Cardinals were ranked the nation's No. 1 team, coach Jim Boeheim made it clear how much he thought of Pitt, saying the Panthers were the best team they had faced all season, adding, 'It's not even close.'

Tray Woodall led Pitt's well-balanced attacked that featured seven players with at least six points, and nine players with a minimum of 15 minutes on the court.

Syracuse faded down the stretch, hampered by a poor shooting day from two of the team's leaders - Brandon Triche finished 4-14 from the field and Michael Carter Williams was just 3-12.

C.J. Fair led all scorers with 20. Triche scored 14 and Carter Williams had 13.

Back to back defeats to unranked opponents will likely knock 'Cuse out of the top 10, or worse. National rankings will be updated Monday.

Syracuse (18-3, 6-2 Big East) will look to turn things around Monday night when the host Notre Dame at 7:00.