Syracuse meets Pitt in ACC 2nd round

Pittsburgh (14-18, 4-15) vs. No. 6 seed Syracuse (19-12, 10-8)

Atlantic Coast Conference Tourney Second Round, Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh is set to meet Syracuse in the second round of the ACC tournament. In the regular season, Syracuse won both of the head-to-head matchups. The teams last played on Feb. 2, when the Orange shot 41.5 percent from the field while limiting Pittsburgh to just 31.6 percent on their way to a nine-point victory.

FEARLESS FRESHMEN: Pittsburgh’s Xavier Johnson, Trey McGowens and Au’Diese Toney have combined to score 50 percent of the team’s points this season and have accounted for 50 percent of all Panthers scoring over the last five games.

JUMPING FOR JOHNSON: Johnson has connected on 35.6 percent of the 104 3-pointers he’s attempted. He’s also converted 75.1 percent of his foul shots this season.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: Syracuse is a perfect 15-0 when it holds an opponent to 63 points or fewer. The Orange are 4-12 when opponents score more than 63 points.

PASSING FOR POINTS: The Panthers have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Orange. Syracuse has an assist on 29 of 68 field goals (42.6 percent) across its previous three matchups while Pittsburgh has assists on 35 of 69 field goals (50.7 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Syracuse defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 23.4 percent of all possessions, which is the 14th-highest rate in the country. Pittsburgh has turned the ball over on 19.8 percent of its possessions (ranked 263rd among Division I teams).