Takeaways: Give Blake Hinson Space and He’ll Kickstart Pitt’s Offense

PITTSBURGH — Blake Hinson only took one shot in the first 13 minutes of Pitt’s game against Notre Dame on Saturday, and it was a layup.

The Panthers’ three-point specialist took his first three pointer with 6:35 remaining in the first half, and missed it. After he was fouled on his second three-point try minutes later, he went 1 for 3 from the free-throw line.

It took until the 1:13 mark of the half — at which point Pitt trailed 19-25 — for Hinson to make his first three pointer. The Fighting Irish were defending Hinson with a number of different players, including Northwestern transfer Julian Roper and forward Tae Davis. Once Hinson would get the ball, on most possessions, the Fighting Irish would send double teams his way, making it tough for Hinson to find any room to make a play, let alone get a shot up.

“Somebody is open,” Hinson said about his thought process during double teams. “The general rule of a double team. Sometimes I can get through it, but just trying to get off the ball and not turn it over, which I did four times today. But, try not to turn it over.”

Pittsburgh Panthers forward Blake Hinson (2) February 3, 2024 David Hague/PSN

On his first three of the game, Hinson got the ball on the wing with just 12 seconds on the shot clock. He dished it to Jaland Lowe quickly, who swung the ball around the perimeter. Two passes later, Ishmael Leggett took the ball, with time running down on the shot clock, and drove into the Notre Dame defense. There, he saw Hinson reappear on the opposite wing with plenty of room for a three.

“Blake’s two, off of skip passes,” Jeff Capel said about Hinson’s threes. “The first one, he got doubled and he threw it out. We had great movement there. We swung it, swung it, then we drove it, found him opposite on another skip pass.”

After that first make, Hinson once again found open space for a three pointer with 18 seconds left in the first half. Although Pitt went into the half with just a six-point lead, it felt as though Hinson’s game, and the entire offense, had opened up once he hit a couple from deep.

“I thought Tae Davis and Julian Roper did a good job of chasing him off screens and trying to be there off the catch,” Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry said after the game. “We tried to double him when he had some mismatches. Just tried to make him pass as much as possible.”

Hinson finished with 17 points on 4-for-6 shooting from three-point range. The 6-foot-7 forward hit 5 of his 7 free-throw attempts in the win, and grabbed four rebounds.

BUB BACK ON TRACK

After a three-game stretch of 10 points, 0 points, and 9 points for Bub Carrington in mid-January, the freshman guard has now scored at least 15 points in three of his last four contests.

With 19 against Georgia Tech and 24 against Wake Forest, Carrington came into the game against Notre Dame with a recent hot streak. On Saturday night, he delivered with 16 points — in just 20 minutes of action — going 5 for 10 from the field and 3 for 6 from three-point range. Two of his threes, coming back to back in the first half, ignited a strong Pitt run that eventually led to back-to-back threes by Hinson that closed the half for the Panthers and secured a halftime lead.

Pittsburgh Panthers guard Carlton Carrington (7) February 3, 2024 David Hague/PSN

In his last four games, Carrington has hit seven of his 23 three-point attempts (30%), and on the year, he is now shooting 40% from the field and 29% from three.

WIN NO. 300 IN THE PETE

With the win over the Fighting Irish, Pitt earned its 300th win in the history of the Petersen Events Center.

“It’s awesome. It’s awesome. I’m grateful for the little bit that I’ve had to do with it. There were a lot more before I got here with Ben and with Jamie and what they were able to do here. It was really awesome to have the 1974 team here and the 2009 team, to be able to spend time with them yesterday and last night, some of the guys were at shoot-around today.”

Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Jeff Capel February 3, 2024 David Hague/PSN

Pitt previously played in the Fitzgerald Field House until “the Pete” opened in 2002.

“This is a very proud program, and it’s a really, really good program,” Capel said. “I’m honored to be the caretaker of it, to be a part of it, and hopefully we can get a lot more wins here.”

LOOKING AHEAD

The Panthers have now won four of their last five games, dating back to their massive road victory over No. 7 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Now, sitting at 14-8 (5-6 ACC), Pitt faces two tough road games; at NC State, and then at Virginia.

NC State currently sits at 15-7 overall and is currently riding a two-game winning streak with “W’s” over Miami and Georgia Tech in the past week. The Wolfpack is led by DJ Horne, Casey Morsell, big man DJ Burns, and Jayden Taylor — all of which are averaging more than 10 points per game.

Virginia has won 22 straight home games, and is catching fire at the right time this season. The Cavalliers went into Clemson on Saturday and took down the Tigers, advancing to 17-5 on the year and 8-3 in ACC play. Tony Bennett’s squad has won six-straight games, and will play Miami and Florida State in the upcoming week before taking on the Panthers. Virginia’s leading scorer this season is Reece Beekman, followed by sharpshooter Isaac McKneely and former Pitt recruiting target Ryan Dunn.

The Panthers’ matchup against NC State will tip off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7 on ESPNU.