The odds could not have been stacked against Pitt much more than they were at the Carrier Dome on Wednesday, as the team was down four scholarship players for a road matchup played on three days’ notice with a Syracuse team it last beat in 2017. But still, the Panthers managed to pull off a dramatic come-from-behind victory, topping the Orange 63-60.
The win was Jeff Capel’s first over Jim Boeheim since he became Pitt’s head coach in 2018. Heading into Wednesday, Capel was 0-5 against the Syracuse coach during his time at Pitt, but he had beaten him once before in a Sweet 16 matchup in the 2009 NCAA tournament as Oklahoma’s head coach.