Otto’s Army, along with the Student Association, is providing a free bus and free game tickets for students to travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday to watch the men’s basketball game between Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Free tickets for the bus and the game will be available to students with an SUID starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Schine Student Center. Students are limited to one ticket per person. There will be 41 tickets available, said Otto’s Army Public Relations Officer Ben Glidden, and any undergraduate student can claim them, not just season ticket holders. There will be a 10-person waitlist after all of the 41 tickets are given out.

Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday, and Glidden said the bus will leave at 8 a.m.

Glidden, who is also a contributing writer for The Daily Orange, said Otto’s Army had to submit a budget for the bus trip in order to secure funding. SA is funding the cost of the bus and Otto’s Army is covering the cost of tickets.

Glidden said Otto’s Army considers factors such as travel feasibility and opponent strength when looking at what game it will travel to.

“Pitt coming over from the Big East with us, I really consider them one of our big Atlantic Coast Conference rivals and I think there’s always going to be interest around a Syracuse-Pitt game,” he said.

Last year, Otto’s Army traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia in late February to watch Syracuse play the University of Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia won the game 75-56 last year, handing the Orange its third loss of the year.

Pitt (15-8, 4-5 Atlantic Coast) is coming off a 76-72 upset win over then-No. 8 Notre Dame (20-3, 8-2). The Pitt Panthers also defeated the Bryant University Bulldogs on Monday night and have the rest of the week off before playing the Orange on Saturday. Google Maps puts the trip from SU to the Petersen Events Center, where the Panthers play, as a five hour and 38 minute drive.

Said Glidden: “We really get the committed fans out to the game and being a group of 50-or-so committed fans, it’s always a really good time.”

Published on February 2, 2015 at 8:02 pm

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306