Great win. Thought it was the biggest game in a long time and I was a little worried that they would be too excited, but they showed poise for the most part. They are the better team. To me, there is no doubt. Jalen Johnson is a freak show, but Pitt is the better team. This Duke team should get better and win some more games. It is not a typical Duke team, but Johnson looks healthy now and they will start figuring some things out. For Coach Capel and this team, it is a huge statement win, and another building block to use.
Justin Champagnie is just toying with the ACC right now. To me, he is playing the best basketball in the country besides Luka Garza. Maybe there are a few others, but he is right there. And I'm not even sure he is 100% yet coming off of that knee. At one point he had a slight limp going back to the huddle, but the spring and bounce is there. He finished the game strong and looked fine. Justin is basically scoring like Sam Young did, and rebounding like Dejuan. Right now, he is the early leader for ACC POY. It is still very early, but he should only get better. There are shots that he makes that are just incredible to me. The short floaters where he is sliding sideways, the left-hand, etc. Some of his conversions are incredibly difficult but he makes it look easy. Not sure I can remember another Pitt player that has been so dominant scoring and rebounding the ball.
Au'diese deserves a ton of credit. Another great performance. The shot wasn't there, but he still found a way to dominate with his physicality. I could not believe that Coach K came out in zone, and then stayed in it for most of the game. It allowed Toney and Champagnie to easily clean up the offensive glass. Seemed like Pitt had much more than 8 offensive rebounds. Several of Toney's defensive rebounds were huge, and in a lot of traffic.
Femi deserves a lot of credit. There was not much in the way of stats, but I thought his contribution was huge. Three assists but four huge rebounds, including one of the biggest of the game. Just thought he brought a calming influence to the game. He slowed things down and brought a sense of poise to the floor. If you didn't know it, you would think Femi was the junior point guard that has played a ton of minutes, and Xavier was the freshman. Femi does all of the little things. Ball fakes at the top of the zone, the right entry passes, etc. Has a great feel for tempo already too.
I have always said that Xavier will always keep both teams in the game. Last night was the epitome of that. It felt like he had even more than 4 turnovers because I think all of them were live ball turnovers. They were crushing. End of the half, should have been a lay up. Instead, a terrible pass leads to a Duke possession that results in a 3. Should have been a 14 point lead at the half instead of 9. He also contributed to two similar situations in the second half. This game should not have been as close. These are the plays that can take this team to another level. With all that being said, 11 huge assists and several big time plays in crunch time. The last assist to Toney was big time. This is just who he is. The difference with this year is that he seems stronger mentally, and he has more help around him. So while the mistakes still happen, they don't seem to completely destroy this team.
Nike didn't do a lot, but I thought his three was huge and it was nice to see him show up after not playing in the last game. It is clear that Coach Capel has shrunk the rotation and is going to go with who he likes in specific matchups. It is all about winning, and it seems like this group is okay with that.
This team has toughness. Both mentally and physically. There are still plenty of shortcomings, but they just seem to find a way. It is not the best team we have seen, but it does feel like they got their edge back. 37 free throw attempts, and they earned all of them. It is never easy with this group, but it is fun.
Justin Champagnie is just toying with the ACC right now. To me, he is playing the best basketball in the country besides Luka Garza. Maybe there are a few others, but he is right there. And I'm not even sure he is 100% yet coming off of that knee. At one point he had a slight limp going back to the huddle, but the spring and bounce is there. He finished the game strong and looked fine. Justin is basically scoring like Sam Young did, and rebounding like Dejuan. Right now, he is the early leader for ACC POY. It is still very early, but he should only get better. There are shots that he makes that are just incredible to me. The short floaters where he is sliding sideways, the left-hand, etc. Some of his conversions are incredibly difficult but he makes it look easy. Not sure I can remember another Pitt player that has been so dominant scoring and rebounding the ball.
Au'diese deserves a ton of credit. Another great performance. The shot wasn't there, but he still found a way to dominate with his physicality. I could not believe that Coach K came out in zone, and then stayed in it for most of the game. It allowed Toney and Champagnie to easily clean up the offensive glass. Seemed like Pitt had much more than 8 offensive rebounds. Several of Toney's defensive rebounds were huge, and in a lot of traffic.
Femi deserves a lot of credit. There was not much in the way of stats, but I thought his contribution was huge. Three assists but four huge rebounds, including one of the biggest of the game. Just thought he brought a calming influence to the game. He slowed things down and brought a sense of poise to the floor. If you didn't know it, you would think Femi was the junior point guard that has played a ton of minutes, and Xavier was the freshman. Femi does all of the little things. Ball fakes at the top of the zone, the right entry passes, etc. Has a great feel for tempo already too.
I have always said that Xavier will always keep both teams in the game. Last night was the epitome of that. It felt like he had even more than 4 turnovers because I think all of them were live ball turnovers. They were crushing. End of the half, should have been a lay up. Instead, a terrible pass leads to a Duke possession that results in a 3. Should have been a 14 point lead at the half instead of 9. He also contributed to two similar situations in the second half. This game should not have been as close. These are the plays that can take this team to another level. With all that being said, 11 huge assists and several big time plays in crunch time. The last assist to Toney was big time. This is just who he is. The difference with this year is that he seems stronger mentally, and he has more help around him. So while the mistakes still happen, they don't seem to completely destroy this team.
Nike didn't do a lot, but I thought his three was huge and it was nice to see him show up after not playing in the last game. It is clear that Coach Capel has shrunk the rotation and is going to go with who he likes in specific matchups. It is all about winning, and it seems like this group is okay with that.
This team has toughness. Both mentally and physically. There are still plenty of shortcomings, but they just seem to find a way. It is not the best team we have seen, but it does feel like they got their edge back. 37 free throw attempts, and they earned all of them. It is never easy with this group, but it is fun.
