Headline: Powered by a record-setting performance from Blake Hinson, Pitt followed its upset win at Virginia with an 86-59 blowout win over Louisville Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center.
The teams: Pitt (17-8 overall, 8-6 ACC) vs. Louisville (8-18 overall, 3-12 ACC)
Game MVP: Really? Is this even a question? There’s no need to be clever. Blake Hinson scored 41 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the floor and 9-of-13 from three for the greatest single-game performance in the history of the Petersen Events Center.
Hinson’s place in Pitt history, pt. 1: With 41 points, Hinson joined an elite club as just the fifth player in Pitt history to eclipse 40 points in a single game. Don Hennon set the Pitt record with 45 points against Duke in 1957, and he topped 40 in two other games. Jamel Artis, Ed Pavlick and Jason Maile all scored 40-plus in a game as well.
Hinson’s place in Pitt history, pt. 2: Those 41 points tied Hinson for the third-most points in a single game in Pitt history. Hennon’s 45 was followed by Artis scoring 43 against Louisville in 2017. Hennon also had a pair of 41-point games in 1958; Hinson tied that number on Saturday night.
Hinson’s place in Pitt history, pt. 3: Hinson’s 41 points put him over 1,000 points for his Pitt career. He has scored 1,029 points for the Panthers and he crossed the 1,000-point plateau in 61 games; only three Pitt players have gotten to 1,000 points faster - Don Hennon (44 games), Billy Knight (45) and Brian Shorter (50).
Hinson’s place in Pitt history, pt. 4: After Saturday night's performance, Hinson has 479 points this season. With seven games left - six in the regular season and at least one ACC Tournament game - Hinson’s current average of 19.16 points per game would put him at 613 for the season. If he hits that number, he’ll be in the top 12 all-time for single-season scoring. The Pitt record for points in a season is 690, set by Sam Young in 2008-09.
A bit of slow start: Pitt took an 11-2 lead to open the game over the first six minutes, but the Panthers slipped a bit after that, missing eight of their next 10 shots as Louisville went on a 10-0 run to take a 12-11 lead.
Hangover helper: The cure for the hangover, of course, was Hinson. He hit a three to put Pitt ahead 14-12, and after Louisville got back in front 15-14, he went on a tear, outscoring the Cardinals 11-3 all on his own, and the Panthers never looked back.
Other guys who played: Of course, Hinson wasn’t the only player on the court Saturday night. Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett scored 10 points each, while Bub Carringotn had five points and eight assists. Federiko Federiko recorded eight points and eight rebounds.
Something to be said for beating the bad teams: Blowing out Louisville at home is not quite the same as beating Duke and Virginia on the road, but there’s still something to be said for taking care of business against lesser opponents. Louisville, which ranked No. 179 in the NET rankings entering Saturday, certainly fits the bill, and after the Panthers’ early slump, they thoroughly dominated the Cardinals to sweep the season series against Kenny Payne’s team.
An early tech: After Ishmael Leggett was called for a foul at the 11:23 mark of the first half, Jeff Capel expressed considerable displeasure with the officiating and drew a technical foul as a result. It was Capel’s second technical foul of the season.
Crowd: With an announced attendance of 11,419, Saturday night’s game registered the second-biggest crowd of the season at the Petersen Events Center (the Duke game last month drew 11,476).
The winning streak: The win over Louisville was Pitt’s fifth win in a row - the Panthers’ longest winning streak of the season. After losing four out of five against ACC opponents, Pitt has now won seven out of its last eight games.
Up next: Pitt will take that winning streak to Winston-Salem on Tuesday night to face Wake Forest for a 9 pm tipoff.
