WASHINGTON – Thursday was Maryland native Ishmael Leggett’s day. Friday belonged to Baltimore’s Bub Carrington.
Less than an hour away from home, Carrington carried the Panthers offense in Washington, D.C., against North Carolina with 16 first-half points. This far exceeded the next-closest scorer in the game. In fact, he had double the points. Guillermo Diaz Graham had eight — as well as two fouls — when the Panthers went to the locker room. Armando Bacot added seven for North Carolina.
Jaland Lowe also wrote his own story in the ACC semifinals. Lowe struggled to find a groove in the first half. He recorded six points on 3-7 from the floor including three rebounds in 18 minutes. He finished with 37 minutes and became Pitt’s second-leading scorer.
Carrington and Lowe did all they could to pick up their teammates and carry Pitt to the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina had other plans. The top-seeded Tar Heels survived, 72-65, against the No. 4 Panthers.
Pitt built a 17-8 lead thanks to a 13-0 run with 12 and a half minutes left in the first half that took North Carolina over four and a half minutes to break. Carrington shot 6-9 from the floor and 2-4 behind the arc. He added two free throws and never came off the floor. Carrington had a stretch of scoring 11 straight points for Pitt.
The Panthers took a 35-33 lead to the locker room.
Carolina responded in the second half and looked like the No. 1 seed the Tar Heels earned with 17-3 ACC record. UNC led 52-47 with under 11 minutes left in regulation as Carrington grew his total to 21.
With Fede Federiko and Diaz Graham in foul trouble, the Panthers further pushed the envelope for their star guards to keep Pitt in the game. At one point, Blake Hinson and Ish Leggett were a combined 0-10 from and floor and 0-4 from three. Hinson shot 2-12 and missed all five three-point attempts while Leggett had seven on 2-7 from the floor.
The backcourt ESPN’s Jay Bilas described as being one of the best guard rebounding teams in the country, Lowe and Carrington couldn’t find the same success against RJ Davis and forward Armando Bacot as shots continued to fall. Davis scored a game-high 25 points while Bacot once again recorded a double-double at 19 points and 11 rebounds (five offensive).
“You can’t make mistakes against a really good team because they’re going to make you pay for it,” Carrington said. “We did that. We did that for a stretch, and they made us pay for it.”
Lowe scored 11 in the second half to close with 17 points on 7-16 shooting, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Carrington finished with a team-best 24 points, five rebounds, and three assists. It wasn’t enough.
“We grew up,” Lowe said regarding the difference between Friday’s game compared to the last time they played UNC on Jan. 2. “First time we weren’t ready, as ready as we are now. Just knowing that they didn’t get our best shot at first really motivated us to come into this game tonight and give them our best shot.”
It’s unclear where the Panthers stand. Seen as a game to clinch a tournament bid, Pitt couldn’t slam the door shut and cement themselves.
Considered by bracketologist to be on the tournament bubble, the Panthers received a double-bye and defeated No. 5 Wake Forest 81-69 Thursday to pad their season resume. Pitt’s 343rd-ranked non-conference strength of schedule is a key detractor to the Panthers. Despite it all, the Panthers entered Friday No. 40 in the NET. Pitt moved down one spot following the defeat.
Pitt ends the season 22-11 overall and waits to see if its resume is enough to go dancing, even if it’s a first dance once again in Dayton.
Regardless, Panther fans received great news when Carrington confirmed he will return for his sophomore season. The question certainly peaked the interest of Lowe. Carrington is currently projected to be a late-first, early second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Selection Sunday is hours away at 6 p.m. on CBS.
