Pitt men’s basketball conquered its first ACC opponent for the first time in three weeks with a 77-73 road victory against Syracuse.
With the Panthers’ hopes of receiving a bid to the NCAA Tournament looking more and more like a pipe dream, the Panthers dialed in for the second half, performing well and out-lasting Syracuse’s attempt to steal the win.
Finally, with some positives to report, here are some takeaways from the win.
Taking care of the basketball isn’t just coach-speak — it leads to victory
Pitt turned the ball over 11 times against Duke, 17 times against Florida State and nine times against Clemson and Louisville. The margin of loss doesn’t fully correlate with the number of turnovers. But it’s not a surprise that the fewest turnovers in Pitt’s four-game losing streak came against Clemson, a game the Panthers lost by three in overtime, and Louisville, a game that was within one possession with 10 seconds left.
Against Syracuse, Pitt only had three turnovers, all coming in the first half. The Orange only had three turnovers in the second half, but its eight turnovers in the first half helped Pitt come away with the win.
In particular, sophomore guard Jaland Lowe, the Panthers’ main ball-handler, did a great job only turning over the ball once. Lowe had at least three turnovers in each of Pitt’s last four losses, including eight against Florida State.
Rebounding is still an issue, and it might never get better
It’s a bad sign that a single Syracuse player, graduate student center Eddie Lampkin Jr., grabbed over 74% of Pitt’s rebounds alone and one less offensive rebound than Pitt did collectively. Maybe Lampkin Jr. just had a big day.
Pitt junior forward Cameron Corhen, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, couldn’t contain Lampkin Jr. on the glass alone, but rebounding is a team effort.
Both squads scored 16 second-chance points, making Pitt’s rebounding deficit seem much less significant. But the Panthers have lost the rebounding battle in all their losses this season, so letting Lampkin Jr. grab 23 alone isn’t surprising.
Ideally, head coach Jeff Capel should figure out a solution to grabbing more rebounds. But the problem has persisted all season, and it may never be solved. In this case, the Panthers must figure out how to win anyway. Against Syracuse, they did. The Panthers rarely turned the ball over and shot 4-9 from deep in the second half to make it happen.
Trust Austin to shoot — Lowe knows when to find him
Redshirt senior forward Zack Austin spent the first two seasons of his college career at High Point. He averaged over six three-point attempts per game each season but wasn’t the most efficient. Austin wasn’t asked to play as a volume shooter last season, with his attempts per game getting cut in half. But this season, Austin is the main spot-up shooter that the Panthers need.
Austin is shooting 40.5% from deep on 4.4 three-point attempts per game this season. Before this year, his highest career efficiency was 33.3% in his sophomore season at High Point. Austin didn’t shoot well against Clemson, where he shot 2-10 from deep, or Syracuse, where he was 2-7, but Pitt fans should maintain their faith in his ability.
Lowe has shown the ability to throw lob passes to Austin that excite the crowd and the rest of the Panthers. The evolution from last season to this season is that Lowe often finds Austin open beyond the arc with just enough space for Austin to get his shot off. Even if Austin’s short shooting slump doesn’t end soon, the Panthers need to keep their faith in him and give him the ball if he’s open.