PITTSBURGH — Pitt’s week came to a rough conclusion on Sunday as the Panthers fell to 0-2 on the week, 0-1 in ACC play, and 5-3 on the season with a loss to Clemson.
The Panthers, despite an elite offensive effort from Blake Hinson (27 points on 9-for-16 shooting) could not earn enough production from elsewhere, falling to undefeated Clemson by a score of 79-70.
TIGERS’ STARS SHINE
The Tigers, led by Joe Girard III and PJ Hall, built up a 15-point lead in the second half and withstood Pitt’s come-back attempt with huge defensive stops and timely buckets of their own. Hall and Girard — two of the ACC’s most experienced veterans, showcased their elite inside-out talent, combining for 47 points and 12 rebounds and silencing the Petersen Events Center crowd.
“That’s been one of our strengths all year, just having an older group,” Hall said. “I think that having that kind of experience and to be able to keep our poise down the stretch is a huge strength for us, so, going down the stretch, as we came out of the last media, we got out of the huddle and said, ‘Hey, take a deep breath, keep some poise, and then go back and take control.’
‘MONSTER’ EFFORT FROM SCHIEFFELIN
Aside from those two, Clemson only had one other double-digit scorer, and that was Chauncey Wiggins (12 points). However, perhaps the Tigers’ most impressive performer of the night was 6-foot-8 forward Ian Schieffelin, who found a way to dominate the game in a different way.
“We have a lot of good players,” Tigers’ head coach Brad Brownell said after the win. “I think at the end of the day, you try to put your guys in good positions and then they’ve got to make plays. I’m fortunate that these two guys [Girard and Hall], Chase didn’t play quite as well today, Ian was a monster again on the glass. I just think we executed a lot of what we do very well.”
Pitt trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half but battled back to cut the deficit all the way down to two points. While the Panthers could not get any closer, Jeff Capel still thought that his team learned lessons about itself in the loss.
“I think we found something, learned something there in the second half,” Capel said. “I think we learned how to fight and learned what it’s going to take to be able to become a really good team and to be able to beat really good teams.”
Schieffelin finished with a stunning 17-rebound, 8-point stat line in the Tigers’ win, getting whatever he wanted over Pitt’s bigs in the paint. Seven of his 17 rebounds came offensively, leading to bucket after bucket for the Tigers.
WHAT WENT WRONG FOR PITT?
The Panthers hit 43% of their field-goal attempts and 35% of their three-point attempts. So where did the Panthers go wrong? This wasn’t a case of just missing timely open looks — like Missouri was.
Pitt’s inability to compose a complete game once again resulted in a loss to a power-conference program. The Panthers are now 1-3 against high-major opponents this season, with their only win coming over Oregon State. They have not been able to put everything together at this level.
“We’re still learning about who we are, especially against this level of competition,” Capel said. “It’s not like the first four games. Against this level — and we have one more on Wednesday night against another high-level opponent, but this is what’s required when you’re playing against this level of competition. This will help us as we go forward.”
On Sunday, Hinson was on. The senior hit six of his ten three-point attempts and exploded for 22 second-half points. Leggett also had a good night, contributing 17 points and hitting 6 of his 11 attempts. Bub Carrington had his ups and downs in the face of more high-major caliber pressure. Carrington finished with 13 points and six assists in the loss, but once again struggled from the field, going 5 for 16 from the field and 1 for 5 from three-point range.
And yet again, dreadful scoreless streaks (no field goals in the final 3:41), crushing missed free throws in big moments, and no bench production (0 points in 32 minutes) killed the Panthers. Clemson was — similarly to Florida and Missouri — physical as ever with Pitt’s guards, making Leggett earn every bucket. With Carrington, the Tigers played tight defense on him as well, forcing him to rarely find clean looks at the basket.
‘EFFORT WAS THERE’
One positive, from Capel’s point of view, was that the Panthers came ready to play on Sunday. When their shots did not fall, they didn’t seem to sulk. Instead, what plagued them was on the other end. The Tigers repeatedly took advantage of Pitt’s missed opportunities and cashed in with daggers of their own on offense.
“I feel like our effort was there,” Capel said. “I thought we committed some fouls where we were reaching going over someone’s back where we have to be smarter in those situations. Our effort was there. Our guys fought. We wanted to win. I just think they’re really good, man. They made some tough shots, they made some big plays, they made a few more plays than us at the end.”
Pitt will have the chance to bounce back on Wednesday, Dec. 6 against West Virginia in Morgantown. That game will tip off at 9 p.m. on ESPN2.
Takeaway: Pitt isn’t very good. And they aren’t going to win anything with coaching
Pitt is about 7 players shy of a decent lineup. Probably end the season around a 15-13 record.
This team has played together for 8 games. With a point guard that was in high school last year. They are going to lose, but they are learning. These close losses will turn into close wins by March and no one will remember what happened in December.