PITTSBURGH — Despite a lopsided loss to the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels on Tuesday night, one of the lone bright spots for Pitt was the performance of freshman guard Jaland Lowe.
Lowe first substituted into the game with 12:12 to go in the first half, and quickly filled up the stat sheet. After knocking down a layup, Lowe then grabbed a defensive rebound, followed by an assist and two more defensive rebounds in his first stint out on the floor against North Carolina’s tough guards.
Lowe then subbed in with 4:40 to play in the half with Pitt leading 19-16 in a slow, back-and-forth affair. In that stint, he dished out an assist and hit a jumper before halftime struck. At the break, Lowe had four points, three rebounds, and two assists.
The Houston native was a quick spark for the Panthers when they needed it most. With Blake Hinson struggling to connect from the field and lots of Tar-Heel attention focused on Bub Carrington in the back court, Lowe took advantage, using his quickness to get wherever he wanted to on the floor and finish with soft touch.
In the second half, Lowe hit two jump shots in a two-minute span to cut UNC’s lead down to four. Then, he turned the ball over on an errant pass inside, missed a three, and committed a foul. Later on in the half, Lowe missed a layup, picked up two more fouls, and turned the ball over once more.
However, despite the rough look on the box score on those three possessions, Lowe is clearly learning. With each game, he seems to be getting more aggressive, and it has translated positively to his on-court impact.
He finished Tuesday’s game with the following strong stat line: 10 points (4-8 FG), 2-2 FT, three rebounds. two assists, one steal, and two turnovers.
In his last four games, he has played 20, 21, 17, and 24 (career-high) minutes, with the career high coming on Tuesday against UNC. Lowe entered Tuesday’s game averaging 14.9 minutes per game. But if we’ve learned anything from Pitt’s past four games, it is that the rookie will see the floor more and more due to his growing comfort and fit in the team’s plans.
