Syracuse (19-12, 9-9 Atlantic Coast) takes on Pittsburgh (20-10, 9-9) at noon on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC tournament at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Orange lost to the Panthers twice during the regular season and is is teetering on the NCAA Tournament bubble. A win against Pitt could go a long way to helping SU’s Tournament chances.

Sam Blum (19-12)
Syracuse 64, Pittsburgh 60
Scratching and clawing

The Orange all but needs a win to clinch an NCAA Tournament berth on Wednesday against its rival, Pittsburgh. And a win it will get. Michael Gbinije rebounds from his two poor performances over the Panthers this season as the Orange squeaks out a victory late in the second half. Playing well down the stretch against the Panthers has been SU’s Achilles’ heel, but Syracuse finds a way in a game it definitely needed to.

Jesse Dougherty (21-10)
Syracuse 65, Pittsburgh 60
Resume maker

Even if it’s been few and far between, Syracuse has proven that it can be a “big-game” team at times this season. Think back to the Orange’s three wins in three days at the Battle 4 Atlantis, its win at Duke and a blowout win over then-No. 25 Notre Dame. That team — the one that won games it probably shouldn’t have — shows up in the Verizon Center against Pittsburgh on Saturday and saves SU’s NCAA Tournament chances. With the lights as bright as they’ve been all season, Syracuse’s best players carry the load in crunch time. That means Gbinije plays to his full potential, Trevor Cooney snaps out of his shooting slump and Malachi Richardson proves a matchup problem for Pittsburgh’s uptight man-to-man defense.

Matt Schneidman (22-9)
Pittsburgh 66, Syracuse 61
A national invitation

It’s hard to beat a team three times in a season, yes, but Pittsburgh has the pieces to do it. James Robinson and Sterling Smith can shoot the lights out. Michael Young sifts through the holes in the zone down low to dominate the boards. Jamel Artis roasts Syracuse from mid range. Jamie Dixon just always seems to have Jim Boeheim’s number and Pitt is that scrappy playground opponent who may not be more talented and flashy, but often wins. Syracuse gets outrebounded by double digits again, the Orange can’t light it up from deep and SU is NIT bound.