The new year is a time for change. Most people lay out resolutions while striving to excel in the new year. Pitt men’s basketball’s goal is simple — dominate the ACC and make the NCAA Tournament.
Over winter break, the Panthers faced a pair of Pacific Coast schools, Cal and Stanford, who joined the ACC in the offseason. Both schools had to travel over 2,500 miles across three time zones to play at the Petersen Events Center and couldn’t last 40 minutes with the Panthers.
On New Year’s Day, Pitt trailed 16 points behind Cal with 4:19 left in the first half. But the Panthers quickly erased the Golden Bears lead and blew the game wide open. With just under three minutes remaining, Pitt sophomore guard Jaland Lowe converted a lay-up through contact and made the following free throw to put the Panthers up 15. It’s no surprise Pitt battled back.
Pitt’s last loss was a 33-point blowout at Mississippi State when they were riding high off a buzzer-beating win at Ohio State and ranked No. 18. After returning to Earth, Pitt has won five straight and 14 straight at home. Even with the Panthers’ leading scorer, senior guard Ishmael Leggett, out with an ankle injury, a 16-point deficit wasn’t enough to make Pitt blink. Lowe finished with 27 points and eight assists.
The 12-point win over Cal was another breakout game for first-year guard Brandin “Beebah” Cummings, who finished with 15 points, including three three-pointers. Cummings was on the floor for 38 minutes with Leggett sidelined. In December, Cummings finished with 30 points against Eastern Kentucky and won ACC Rookie of the Week.
Junior forward Cameron Corhen, who transferred from Florida State in the offseason, showed he’s found his role in the offense. Corhen often sets screens for Lowe, letting Lowe drive to the basket and hit him on rolls to the paint, putting opposing defenses in a conundrum. Defenses either have to stop Lowe from getting to the hoop and leave Corhen wide open or take away the pass to Corhen and leave Lowe one-on-one. The guard and big combo maximize their strengths in this way, boldly shown against Cal. Corhen finished with 19 points on only eight shot attempts and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Lowe and Leggett have established themselves as one of the best guard duos in the country. Leggett currently averages 17.8 points per game on over 52% shooting and Lowe averages 17.4.
Three days after the Panthers defeated Cal, they faced Stanford, concluding their four-game homestand. Stanford brought a unique challenge in senior forward Maxime Raynaud, who stands at 7-foot-1 and averages the 10th most points in the nation with 20.9 and the third most rebounds with 11.9.
But again, the Panthers came prepared. Redshirt senior forward Zack Austin made two SportsCenter Top 10 quality blocks and scored 11 points to enter the record books as the fourth player in NCAA history to total 1,200 points, 600 rebounds, 175 three-pointers and 200 blocks over a career.
The Panthers are also without graduate student guard Damian Dunn due to a hand injury. If Dunn returns to his starting role, Austin will knock on the door of the third-straight ACC Sixth Man of the Year for Pitt.
Similar to Cummings stepping up against Cal, junior forward Jorge Diaz Graham made both three-point attempts against Stanford, bringing his three-point efficiency to 57.9% on the season. Of course, Diaz Graham has only attempted less than one three-pointer per game this season, but that high efficiency can give Pitt fans and head coach Jeff Capel confidence that the big man is ready when called upon. His shot-making may even warrant more minutes.
Leggett missed all four of his three attempts but was a perfect nine-for-nine from inside the arc, totaling 21 points in his return to the Panthers. The Panthers defeated Stanford 83-65 and stayed hot on the trail of their best start since the 2015-16 season, when the Panthers only had one loss until Jan. 14.
The Panthers’ toughest challenge comes next when they travel to a two-loss No. 4 ranked Duke team on Tuesday night.