No. 2 Syracuse (17-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) welcomes an overachieving No. 22 Pittsburgh (16-1, 4-0) squad to the Carrier Dome on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Panthers have won 10 of the last 14 games in the head-to-head rivalry and come to Central New York with just one loss this season, but no games played against a ranked opponent.

Here’s what the Orange has to do to stay undefeated:

1. Keep the bigs out of foul trouble

The Boston College game was the first this season in which Syracuse experienced true foul trouble. Jerami Grant had to play half of the second half with four fouls. Baye Moussa Keita and Rakeem Christmas also had to play with four fouls. With DaJuan Coleman still hampered from a left leg contusion, the last thing the Orange needs is a foul-heavy frontcourt, especially facing Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna.

2. Find Cooney early and often

Trevor Cooney shined defensively and in transition against the Eagles, but he hasn’t quite found his 3-point shot again, shooting 2-of-5 from beyond the arc in that game. Getting him a couple open looks early could set the SU sharpshooter up to continue his much-needed turnaround.

3. Close out on shooters

Pittsburgh may not be the best outside shooting team in the conference — especially after losing Durand Johnson for the season with a torn ACL — but Patterson can stroke it from 3 if left open. Boston College gave SU a big-time scare on Monday behind Lonnie Jackson, so SU should do its best to force the Panthers off the line.

4. Fairly improved performance from C.J.

The Orange’s senior forward scored just 12 points — his second-lowest total of the season — on 4-of-13 shooting against Boston College. He is SU’s go-to guy in crunch time and one that feels like he’s due for a big game. With Patterson on him, Fair should do his best to tire out Pitt’s best player on the defensive end of the court.

5. More of the same from Tyler Ennis

SU’s freshman point guard has been as steady as any court general in the country. He sets the tone for the Orange at both ends of the court and draws a somewhat tough matchup in James Robinson. Robinson has an inch and 20 pounds on Ennis, and is coming off a season-high 16-point performance in the Panthers’ 81-74 win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

Published on January 18, 2014 at 3:40 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1