The Pittsburgh Panthers started off their season strong, picking up nine wins, including an impressive 17-point victory against West Virginia in Morgantown, while only dropping two games against SEC members Florida and Missouri. During this 11-game span, Coach Capel had the second-leading scorer among the top six conferences in Blake Hinson, three-time ACC Rookie of the Week in Bub Carrington, and a lineup that showed promise for Pittsburgh going into ACC play.
However, this promise was shattered by the first few games in conference.
The Panthers would tumble to the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s rankings at the beginning of ACC play, losing games to nationally ranked teams in Duke and North Carolina, along with Clemson at home and Syracuse both home and away. Pittsburgh was only able to manage to pick up a win against a horrific Louisville team.
This stretch caused chaos inside the program. Players were moved in and out of the starting lineup as Coach Capel tried to see what worked. Rhode Island transfer Ishmael Leggett and Federiko Federiko were seen as underperforming and rotated out of the starting five for Jaland Lowe and Guillermo Diaz Graham. During the unfortunate losing streak for the Panthers, both Hinson and Carrington were hounded by the defenses of the ACC, causing both their stats and the team’s record to slip. These losses began to crush the hopes of another tournament run and paint the picture of how the rest of the season would go.
On Saturday, January 20th the Panthers traveled to Durham, North Carolina to face the 7th-ranked Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Pittsburgh was expected to be destroyed by not only Jon Scheyer’s team but by the most hostile student section in college basketball. Coach Capel started freshman guards Jaland Lowe and Bub Carrington and forwards Blake Hinson and Zack Austin, and rotated center Federiko Federiko back into the lineup after coming off the bench the last couple of games. Pittsburgh pounced to an early 9-0 lead, quieting the rowdy student section. However, the Blue Devils would rally back, cutting the Panther’s lead to four with a halftime score of 38-34. Throughout the second half, the lead would change a total of six times, ultimately with the Panthers claiming a 80-76 victory over Duke, making this their first victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1979.
Pittsburgh’s victory over Duke displays how good this team can be. Blake Hinson shot a perfect seven for seven from three-point range, tying the ACC record for the most threes shot without a miss. Hinson recorded 24 points. Jaland Lowe, who struggled early this season, has begun to develop with the team — he put up 17 points against Duke, which included a clutch three-pointer that put the nail in the coffin.
Pittsburgh continues ACC play at Georgia Tech on January 23rd. One good win against a top team helps, but it certainly does not change the fact that Pitt is 2-5 and dangerously close to the bottom of the conference. If the Panthers want another shot at March Madness, then they cannot drop games against bad teams, and they need to win games against good teams to help their resume. Overall, if Pittsburgh wants it enough, it is very possible for another deep post-season run.
