Panthers pummel Virginia Tech at home, 90-71

With his team struggling to stop the Pitt men’s basketball offense, Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams must’ve been sweating through his suit.

Williams shed layers down to a button-up in the first half and settled on a long-sleeve purple Dri-FIT after halftime.

But the game didn’t cool down, as no defense or outfit change could stop Pitt’s potent offense. The Panthers (17-4, 6-3 ACC) rode to a 90-71 win over the Hokies (12-10, 4-5 ACC) at the Petersen Events Center Sunday night.

Pitt shot 53 percent from the field in the game, knocking down eight 3-pointers and assisting on 30 of its 36 baskets.

“They were incredible offensively,” Williams said. “They shredded us in every way.”

Pitt guard James Robinson attributed his team’s strong offensive performance to a headstrong attitude.

“We shared the ball really well tonight,” Robinson said. “We were the aggressors, we didn’t play on our heels or play passive.”

The team traded baskets early, sitting at 11 each at the TV timeout with 15:30 remaining in the first half. Forward Sheldon Jeter did the early heavy lifting for Pitt, with nine points in the first five minutes. Jeter started instead of center Rafael Maia, as Jeter played power forward and usual starting power forward Michael Young played center.

Jeter would continue his streak, knocking down another jumper and finishing a crafty pass by Jamel Artis with a dunk to help put Pitt up 19-13. He finished as Pitt’s leading scorer on the night, knocking down nine of 13 shots for 23 points.

Early on, Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said Pitt was more aggressive in picking up dribblers early and deterring drives to the hoop by forcing charges.

“The first thing was the charges,” Dixon said. “It was a big emphasis — it’s been a big emphasis — but we really put it out there this week.”

Virginia Tech battled back, eventually pulling within one off a layup by Kerry Blackshear Jr. Pitt’s stall in scoring was a product of its lineup at the time, as Dixon kept leading scoring Artis and Young on the bench.

Pitt, though, would go on another small run, as Ryan Luther knocked down a mid-range jump and a three in the corner. Sterling Smith, who found himself wide open on the wing, took Pitt to a 29-23 lead with another three.

Pitt took advantage of loose defense by the Hokies the entire game, especially Robinson, who assisted on 11 buckets.

“We were finding the open guy. We were being unselfish,” Robinson said. “Not that we got away from it too much, but it wasn’t really there the last couple games.”

With the score at 41-32 into the half, the Hokies couldn’t answer Pitt’s offense, which shot 60 percent in the first half on 16 of 27 shooting. Pitt assisted on 14 of the 16 baskets.

Off the break, Pitt quickly tacked onto its halftime lead after Young converted a reverse layup off the dribble and Artis added a layup in transition.

At the first TV timeout of the half, Pitt led 52-39. Seth Allen scored the Hokies’ first seven points of the period. Allen was by far Virginia Tech’s best player in the game, scoring 28 points — 15 of which came from long range on five of five shooting.

The blemish on Allen’s stat sheet, though, was five turnovers — a teamwide trend for the Hokies, who turned it over 21 times.

Dixon said forcing turnovers was a large focal point during practice, and it showed.

“The defense, the charges, we wanted to force some turnovers,” Dixon said. “I thought that was something we really emphasized this week, so it’s good to see something you emphasized come through.”

Williams recognized that his team’s high turnover rate had a profound effect on the game.

“It was the worst we’ve been,” Williams said. “[Twenty-one] turnovers, that was 28 percent of our possessions.”

Two more baskets by Young, along with a Luther layup and three in the corner from Damon Wilson, let Pitt bring its lead to 18.

Wilson was one of three players off Pitt’s bench who had productive evenings. Wilson finished with eight points, while Luther and Cameron Johnson accumulated nine each. Pitt’s bench outscored the Hokies’ second unit 29-4.

“Ryan gave us good minutes, and obviously Cameron,” Dixon said. “We continue to develop that bench.”

Pitt will return to play at noon Saturday, when it takes on No. 11 Virginia at the Petersen Events Center. The Oakland Zoo will host a blackout for the game, which will be televised on ESPN3.