Pitt vs. Syracuse: Open Gamethread

Today's the big day, folks. Pitt goes head to head against Syracuse and gets their first heavyweight of the season in the unbeaten Orange. As I wrote in the preview, I think there are reasons to like Pitt here. On the road, I'm still not sure I can safely pick the Panthers, but if it's not a close game, I'd be surprised.

In addition to playing on the road, the Panthers are also without Durand Johnson, their sixth man. It will be interesting to see how Jamie Dixon responds here, but my guess is that he goes with his starters as much as possible. Talib Zanna, Lamar Patterson, and Cam Wright are all upperclassmen and James Robinson plays like one. Mike Young's the one guy that you could see lose some minutes if he's not rebounding

Be sure to leave your pre-game thoughts below and then check in with us at 4:00 p.m. to comment live during the game. You can catch it on ESPN.

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