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.
Jamie Dixon left the ACC too soon. It has devolved into a league where every possession is contested with a defensive intensity not unlike the old Big East.
After more time to go over the game last night, Capal has legitimate beef with the ACC. Hinson was hugged, grabbed, and pushed the whole night, mostly by RJ Davis. Understand he is the engine that powers the Pitt offense but if Pitt had mugged RJ Davis like that Hubie Davis would have gone ballistic. Call it both ways! Or is it still the All Carolina Conference?
The biggest difference between Pitt and North Carolina is experience. Although we played outstanding defense in the first half, we just couldn’t make shots. North Carolina used there experience to plaster our guards and big men in the second half be cause they adjusted to the officials. This experience will help this team grow and hopefully, our shooting touch will return.
Hinson 6th year Federiko-3rd Legget 4th Jeffress-4th Austin 4th as usual your comment is lacking in veracity. Sadly, you’re as stupid in 2024 as in previous years
And again, what’s with the “we”? You have absolutely no connection to the University. Clown
Playing division one basketball is the BIGGEST step to the highest level. Only Henson qualifies as experienced. As for you , your a CLOWN with a BIG nose. Everyone sees it ,but YOU. Hear them laughing at you?
Yes, but I’m a clown that knows the difference between “you’re and you’re”. Lol.
Who is Henson, moron?
Then get on your unicycle and juggle some knives
By the way, your mother’s offspring is a moron
Actually skippy, my Brother has a BS and MS from Pitt and a JD from Villanova. I have a BS from Duquesne, an MBA and MPA from Pitt, passed the CPA my first try, and have FINRA Series 7,63,66 and 24 licenses. And we can both write a grammatically correct sentence. What’s your Pitt degree in?