Michalowski: Thoughts From a Dead-Quiet Arena

PITTSBURGH — The three loudest moments in Monday night’s Pitt Vs. Virginia contest came when Papa Amadou Kante checked in for the first time, when two dogs caught frisbees during the halftime show, and when Jorge Diaz Graham hit a first-half three to cut the deficit down to 14.

Otherwise, the stadium filled with boos, and, for the most part, silence. This was “Big Monday,” ESPN’s primetime game. Pitt was favored by 13 points heading into the matchup.

Defensively, Pitt failed to grab several early rebounds and surrendered open look after open look. Something is up with the team’s defensive communication. Pitt’s players are better athletes than Virginia’s players, in my opinion. I also think Pitt’s players are more talented than Virginia’s. So what went wrong?

The Panthers were out-hustled on the defensive end early on. Several early missed shots led to offensive rebounds which resulted in four early second-chance points for the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers were making winning plays, and the Panthers weren’t. UVA out-rebounded Pitt 18 to 11 in the first half. Keep in mind that Virginia came into the game ranked as the No. 342 team out of 355 in NCAA D1 in rebounds per game, and dead last in the ACC in that category.

It was more of the same in the second half, as Virginia knocked in several early three pointers, including one after an offensive rebound.

On the offensive end, Pitt’s best options all year have been getting Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett momentum towards the basket with high ball screens. Lowe has been excellent at times working with both Corhen and the Diaz Graham twins, and Leggett has been best off of dribble handoffs heading to the rim at an angle.

However, as I said in my last column, I believe that the team’s lack of a volume three-point threat has severely limited Lowe and Leggett’s options. Damian Dunn, Jorge Diaz Graham, and Leggett, among others, have shown flashes of brilliance from three-point range. However, not enough for opposing teams to worry about extending their defense too far out. Not enough to open up space for Corhen inside, either. Zack Austin has improved immensely on the offensive end, but he’s at his best in transition, and not when forcing three pointers.

In Pitt’s last five games, Austin has attempted 33 threes, and has made just nine (27%). With him being forced to shoot a large volume of threes, he has struggled. He was — and is — a solid option to make a couple of threes each game.

Austin wasn’t the issue against Virginia. He only took four threes. But I think the Panthers’ offensive struggles compounded when Lowe and Leggett were once again forced to take near-impossible looks early on in the game. Austin’s takes looked forced. Everyone’s takes looked forced against Virginia.

The Panthers could not penetrate into Virginia’s pack-line defense whatsoever on Monday night, and the Cavaliers were holding their own defending each ball screen. With just over eight minutes to play, Pitt desperate for points, Lowe received a screen from Kante, who slipped it. However, neither player could find any space, and Lowe was forced to take a contested mid-range jumper. At best, Pitt was getting fouled. But when you’re down by 20 points — even against Virginia, who is legitimately the No. 351 scoring offense in the nation, foul shots aren’t exactly going to bring you all the way back into the game. That possession alone summarized what we’ve seen from Pitt as of late in my eyes. Limited options, limited ball movement, and limited points.

#Pitt only had five assists against Virginia.

— George Michalowski (@MichalowskiCBB) February 4, 2025

I’m sure nobody is more disappointed in the performance than the coaching staff and the team. However, we’ve heard that several times this year. I said in the beginning of the season on 93.7 The Fan that I thought this was Capel’s most talented team since he’s been at Pitt. With a more offensively-inclined big man in Cam Corhen, veteran guards in Ishmael Leggett and Damian Dunn, and a creator like Jaland Lowe, I believed this team had many different options offensively and the length and athleticism to pester just about anyone defensively. The culture and team chemistry seemed to be as strong as ever, too. But something on the court just has not clicked, and I still think it stems from the team not having a true three-point threat, among other things. Defensively, I’ll wait to hear what Capel says the issues are exactly stemming from. But for a stretch of games now in the heart of the season, the team has not been able to contain even bottom-tier offenses in the ACC.

You can’t lose games to Virginia and Florida State in 2025 and expect to make the NCAA Tournament. Pitt has an uphill battle to fight. If you can’t beat this year’s Virginia team on your home court, it’s hard to expect wins in the next couple of games when you have to travel to Chapel Hill and Dallas to take on UNC and SMU.

Pitt is now 14-8 overall, and 5-6 in ACC play. I predicted that the team would lose about 8-9 games before the season. Even weeks ago, I thought that I would be close to correct, if not right on the dot. I still think the team has enough talent to make it to March. But over the last few weeks, it’s become tougher and tougher to see that happening with these recent end results.