PITTSBURGH — Oshae Brissett’s jumper hit the side of the backboard and Pittsburgh pushed up the floor, looking to pounce. “Oh come on,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said after Brissett’s ugly miss. The Oakland Zoo, Pitt’s student section, got louder. The portable bleachers behind the basket rocked. The Orange’s double-digit lead had shrunk to six.
Amid all the chaos of the road sellout, Brissett sought a still moment. At the free-throw line Saturday night, the Zoo chanted “U-S-A!” to Brissett, a native of Canada. He ignored them — he’s dealt with this kind of mockery before — and proceeded to swish his first free throw.