CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Pitt handles No. 21 Virginia 74-63
The Teams: Pitt (16-8, 7-6); Virginia (19-6, 10-4)
Summary: The Pitt Panthers made 14 3-pointers and used a tough second half defensive effort to stun No. 21 Virginia. Pitt received 27 points from senior Blake Hinson, while Ishmael Leggett chipped in with 13 and Jaland Lowe supplied 12 points. The Panthers started the game hot, but so did Virginia. It was a game that proved to be filled with runs, but it was Pitt who survived Virginia’s best pushes to ultimately come up with an 11-point road victory. The Cavaliers made their first eight shots out of halftime, but only led 49-47 as Pitt managed to keep pace. Hinson’s triple at the 13:01 mark gave Pitt a 50-49 lead and the Panthers never surrendered from there. Pitt was able to stretch the lead to double digits and after Virginia made those first eight shots of the second half, the Cavaliers went 4-of-15 to close out the game.
Game MVP: Blake Hinson
Blake Hinson once again rose to the occasion on the road. In Pitt’s three toughest and loudest road games this year, Hinson has simply torched the opposition. The senior forward scored 29 against West Virginia earlier this year, 24 against Duke, and dropped a cool 27 on arguably the best defensive team in the country tonight. Hinson thrives in these moments and it continued for another tough road game. He was also superb in the second half with 18 points and four boards after halftime. Hinson also found ways to score beyond just three-pointers as he adjusted to how Virginia was playing him. There are plenty of candidates to pick from, but this may have been his finest game in a Pitt uniform.
Unsung Hero: Guillermo Diaz Graham
The center position for Pitt has been adventurous at times this year, but because of that Jeff Capel has valued playing the hot hand. On Tuesday that felt like Guillermo Diaz Graham. The sophomore from Spain played the final 14 minutes for Pitt and helped close out the game against one of the toughest teams in the ACC. Diaz Graham finished with eight points, four rebounds, one steal, and one assist. His ability to provide some offense was key, but his spacing in the second half was noteworthy. Pitt sent him to the middle on offense, which allowed the guards to sort of attack off of what he did. Plus, he came up with some nice efforts on defense as well. It’s not that Federiko was necessarily playing poorly, but the team needed what Diaz-Graham was able to provide on Tuesday.
Turning Point: Lowe and Hinson making back-to-back three-pointers in the second half
There was a sense in the arena that Pitt’s shooting would go away in this one, except it never did. Virginia came out in the second half and threw its best haymaker and all it resulted was a mere one-point advantage. The game was definitely proving to be back and forth, but I think when Lowe and Hinson made back-to-back three-pointers and stretched it to 58-51 that was sort of the moment. Pitt had answers on offense and Virginia was never going to keep up that shooting percentage. Once those dropped in, it kind of felt like the big momentum swing.
Key Stat: Pitt out-rebounding Virginia 21-10 in the second half
Virginia does a lot of things well, but rebounding is not one of them. The Cavaliers are so good defensively, Beekman is a heck of a point guard, and they can shoot, but there is an undeniable weakness here and it is Virginia’s post play. Pitt was unable to really pad the rebounding numbers in the first half, but I don’t think it is a coincidence the Panthers pulled away on the scoreboard because of the work they did on the glass.
Took over their trap: Pitt snapped Virginia’s 23-game home winning streak, which was the longest in the nation. The Panthers also improved to 6-2 this year on the road, with two of those victories occurring over top 25 teams like tonight’s was. The Panthers seemingly have a mindset shift on the road and it has been evident in the results.
February frenzy: In Jeff Capel’s first four seasons, the month of February was when the seasons would come completely unraveled. Over the past two years, it has been the total opposite. Dating back to last season the Panthers are 9-1 in February (3-0 this season), as opposed to 6-24 over Capel’s first four years on the job. It’s been a remarkable turnaround in a crucial point of the college basketball season.
Going streaking: While Pitt snapped Virginia’s eight-game winning streak, it has now won four in a row and six of seven. The Panthers have been the hottest team in the conference in the past four weeks and while they aren’t quite in the tournament conversation just yet, they are getting closer.
Not an ordinary first half: Virginia has not allowed an ACC team to score more than 30 points in the first half all season…until today. The Panthers dropped 35 in the first half. For perspective, Miami only scored 38 for the entire game against this team eight days ago. Virginia is second nationally in team scoring defense, so for Pitt to come in and score 74 is nothing to take lightly.
The Implications: Pitt has maintained its hot streak of play and connotes to have meaningful games deep in the season. After a rough patch in January, this mini-run seemed unlikely. Pitt has now grabbed its second ‘Quad-1’ victory and looks like they may start to hear their name around tournament talk. While the win was important, avoiding a loss to a bad Louisville on Saturday at home is crucial. That’s the thing with this time of year, the next game comes quickly.
Up next: Pitt will host Louisville on Saturday for a 6:30 tip on the ACC network. The Panthers previously defeated the Cardinals 83-70 back on January 6th. Louisville is currently in a three-way tie for last place in the league with a 3-10 conference record.
The Teams: Pitt (16-8, 7-6); Virginia (19-6, 10-4)
Summary: The Pitt Panthers made 14 3-pointers and used a tough second half defensive effort to stun No. 21 Virginia. Pitt received 27 points from senior Blake Hinson, while Ishmael Leggett chipped in with 13 and Jaland Lowe supplied 12 points. The Panthers started the game hot, but so did Virginia. It was a game that proved to be filled with runs, but it was Pitt who survived Virginia’s best pushes to ultimately come up with an 11-point road victory. The Cavaliers made their first eight shots out of halftime, but only led 49-47 as Pitt managed to keep pace. Hinson’s triple at the 13:01 mark gave Pitt a 50-49 lead and the Panthers never surrendered from there. Pitt was able to stretch the lead to double digits and after Virginia made those first eight shots of the second half, the Cavaliers went 4-of-15 to close out the game.
Game MVP: Blake Hinson
Blake Hinson once again rose to the occasion on the road. In Pitt’s three toughest and loudest road games this year, Hinson has simply torched the opposition. The senior forward scored 29 against West Virginia earlier this year, 24 against Duke, and dropped a cool 27 on arguably the best defensive team in the country tonight. Hinson thrives in these moments and it continued for another tough road game. He was also superb in the second half with 18 points and four boards after halftime. Hinson also found ways to score beyond just three-pointers as he adjusted to how Virginia was playing him. There are plenty of candidates to pick from, but this may have been his finest game in a Pitt uniform.
Unsung Hero: Guillermo Diaz Graham
The center position for Pitt has been adventurous at times this year, but because of that Jeff Capel has valued playing the hot hand. On Tuesday that felt like Guillermo Diaz Graham. The sophomore from Spain played the final 14 minutes for Pitt and helped close out the game against one of the toughest teams in the ACC. Diaz Graham finished with eight points, four rebounds, one steal, and one assist. His ability to provide some offense was key, but his spacing in the second half was noteworthy. Pitt sent him to the middle on offense, which allowed the guards to sort of attack off of what he did. Plus, he came up with some nice efforts on defense as well. It’s not that Federiko was necessarily playing poorly, but the team needed what Diaz-Graham was able to provide on Tuesday.
Turning Point: Lowe and Hinson making back-to-back three-pointers in the second half
There was a sense in the arena that Pitt’s shooting would go away in this one, except it never did. Virginia came out in the second half and threw its best haymaker and all it resulted was a mere one-point advantage. The game was definitely proving to be back and forth, but I think when Lowe and Hinson made back-to-back three-pointers and stretched it to 58-51 that was sort of the moment. Pitt had answers on offense and Virginia was never going to keep up that shooting percentage. Once those dropped in, it kind of felt like the big momentum swing.
Key Stat: Pitt out-rebounding Virginia 21-10 in the second half
Virginia does a lot of things well, but rebounding is not one of them. The Cavaliers are so good defensively, Beekman is a heck of a point guard, and they can shoot, but there is an undeniable weakness here and it is Virginia’s post play. Pitt was unable to really pad the rebounding numbers in the first half, but I don’t think it is a coincidence the Panthers pulled away on the scoreboard because of the work they did on the glass.
Took over their trap: Pitt snapped Virginia’s 23-game home winning streak, which was the longest in the nation. The Panthers also improved to 6-2 this year on the road, with two of those victories occurring over top 25 teams like tonight’s was. The Panthers seemingly have a mindset shift on the road and it has been evident in the results.
February frenzy: In Jeff Capel’s first four seasons, the month of February was when the seasons would come completely unraveled. Over the past two years, it has been the total opposite. Dating back to last season the Panthers are 9-1 in February (3-0 this season), as opposed to 6-24 over Capel’s first four years on the job. It’s been a remarkable turnaround in a crucial point of the college basketball season.
Going streaking: While Pitt snapped Virginia’s eight-game winning streak, it has now won four in a row and six of seven. The Panthers have been the hottest team in the conference in the past four weeks and while they aren’t quite in the tournament conversation just yet, they are getting closer.
Not an ordinary first half: Virginia has not allowed an ACC team to score more than 30 points in the first half all season…until today. The Panthers dropped 35 in the first half. For perspective, Miami only scored 38 for the entire game against this team eight days ago. Virginia is second nationally in team scoring defense, so for Pitt to come in and score 74 is nothing to take lightly.
The Implications: Pitt has maintained its hot streak of play and connotes to have meaningful games deep in the season. After a rough patch in January, this mini-run seemed unlikely. Pitt has now grabbed its second ‘Quad-1’ victory and looks like they may start to hear their name around tournament talk. While the win was important, avoiding a loss to a bad Louisville on Saturday at home is crucial. That’s the thing with this time of year, the next game comes quickly.
Up next: Pitt will host Louisville on Saturday for a 6:30 tip on the ACC network. The Panthers previously defeated the Cardinals 83-70 back on January 6th. Louisville is currently in a three-way tie for last place in the league with a 3-10 conference record.
