Syracuse Upset at Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH —  Carl Krauser and Chevon Troutman led Pittsburgh’s second consecutive comeback from a 17-point deficit against a ranked opponent, withstanding long scoreless stretches to lead the No. 20 Panthers to a 76-69 victory over No. 4 Syracuse on Saturday night.

Pittsburgh, rallying much as it did the previous Saturday in beating then-No. 16 Connecticut, 76-66, took command with a 13-0 run midway through the second half as the Orange failed to score for 6 1/2 minutes.

Krauser scored all 19 of his points in the second half after not scoring for nearly 23 minutes, and Troutman, held scoreless for the first 14 1/2 minutes, had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers.

Keith Benjamin, a seldom-used redshirt freshman guard who had scored only two points in Pitt’s previous 13 games, keyed the comeback by coming off the bench for 10 points, as many as he has had all season.

The Panthers, 14-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big East, had lost three of five, two in a row at home to Bucknell and Georgetown, before beating Connecticut and Syracuse in succession.

Gerry McNamara scored 26 points and Hakim Warrick had 25 for the Orange (20-2, 7-1), but no other player scored more than four as their 13-game winning streak ended.

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Showdowns in the East

Top matchups on the Big East schedule:

Feb. 7 Connecticut at Syracuse

Feb. 14 Pittsburgh at Syracuse

Feb. 19 Syracuse at Boston College

Feb. 26 Connecticut at Pittsburgh

Feb. 28 Pittsburgh at Boston College

March 5 Syracuse at Connecticut