Panthers knocked out of ACC Tournament by Virginia in semifinal

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GREENSBORO, N.C.– With the shot clock winding down on a late Virginia possession and his team down by three points, Pitt guard James Robinson stripped Virginia forward Malcolm Brogdon as he attempted to shoot before time expired. With the ball, Robinson charged down the floor against three Virginia defenders, hung in the air while absorbing contact, made a lay-up and hit the floor with 10 seconds to play.

As he’s done many times already in his two-year career at Pitt, it seemed like Robinson made a seemingly-improbable play to single-handedly pull his team from the brink of a loss. There was only one problem.

The referee’s whistle remained silent.

“I mean I just tried to get to the bucket and then obviously the ref didn’t call a foul so, that’s on him,” Robinson said. “It is what it is.”

Virginia forward Akil Mitchell was the main challenger to Robinson’s shot, and said after the game that he was a “a little bit” surprised to not hear a whistle after the play.

“.I wanted to contest it as best as I could,” Mitchell said. “I definitely didn’t want to foul. But, you know, they let it go.”

A chance at the free throw line would’ve afforded Pitt an opportunity to the game after the Panthers trailed by seven points minutes earlier. But Anthony Gill made a pair of free throws after Pitt intentionally fouled him which sealed No. 6 Virginia’s 51-48 victory to move on to the ACC Tournament’s championship game.

Post-game, Robinson’s play was the focus of head coach Jamie Dixon’s attention.

“We just saw it on video,” Dixon said. “What can you do? Just watched it. Everybody saw it.”

“Can’t state the obvious.”

The regular-season ACC champs took the first lead Saturday on a basket by Joe Harris, which marked the first time Pitt (25-9) trailed in Greensboro. Pitt battled back to take a 11-10 lead with 10:34 left in the half on a free throw by Josh Newkirk.

The Panthers’ largest lead came with 4:24 left in the half after Talib Zanna scored to put Pitt up 21-18. After Robinson and London Perrantes traded 3-pointers, the Panthers lead 24-21 before Virginia (27-6) scored the last five points of the half to lead 26-24 after the first 20 minutes.

Once the Cavaliers re-took the lead, they never gave it back in the second half.

Pitt closed to within a point multiple times but couldn’t record the defensive stop or basket necessary to get ahead again. Virginia opened its lead to as many as eight points at 45-37 with 9:30 left to play, which required the Panthers to hold Virginia scoreless for the next six minutes of play in order to halt the Cavaliers’ momentum.

Neither team was able to gain extensive separation throughout, and the Panthers were unable to impose their will like they did when opening up double-digit leads against Wake Forest and North Carolina earlier in the tournament.

The team’ stifling defense was the primary cause of the low-scoring game, one Virginia head coach Tony Bennett called a “blue-collar knucklebuster.”

Pitt forward Lamar Patterson finished with 15 points, but needed 15 shots to reach that number.

“They don’t make very many mistakes and they just stick together and they’re real solid,” Patterson said. “They sagged into the paint and they’re a good team. That’s why they won the conference.”

Zanna was the only other Panther in double-figures with 15 points, but he wasn’t nearly as effective as when he dominated the frontcourt against Wake Forest and North Carolina. Virginia’s size up front helped keep Zanna in check, as did double-teams sent his way when the ball was entered to Pitt’s center in the post.

Pitt finished the game shooting 36.7 percent from the field, while the Cavaliers finished 10 percent better with a 46.7 percent clip. The Panthers were able to make up the gap with 14 free throw attempts against Virginia’s seven.

Harris led Virginia with 12 points, while Malcolm Brogdon and Justin Anderson each added 10.

While the Cavaliers didn’t need a buzzer-beater from Brogdon as they did in Pittsburgh Feb. 2, the loss is equally as painful for the Panthers.

“We’re extremely disappointed,” Dixon said. “We thought we had our chances to win the game and thought our guys played well.”