Pitt men’s basketball was in control for most of the game, but a short run early in the second half cemented UVA’s 73-66 win over the Panthers on Saturday afternoon.

Xavier Johnson’s career-best 32 points was supported by a suffocating defensive effort as Pitt topped No. 16 Virginia Tech, 83-72, for their first win over a ranked opponent in more than two years.

Pitt (8-5 overall, 4-4 ACC) put forth a performance that head coach Jeff Capel called “deplorable” and “embarrassing” in an 84-58 beat down at the hands of Notre Dame (6-9 overall, 3-6 ACC). The Panthers were unable to keep the Irish’s dribble penetration contained and were buried by their blistering 54% shooting mark on 3-point shots.

On Tuesday night, just one week removed from the Duke win, the mood had completely flipped. Pitt (8-4 overall, 4-3 ACC) was maddeningly sloppy against North Carolina (11-5 overall, 6-3 ACC) and lost 75-65 in deflating fashion at the Pete.

Katie Chamberlain and Katrina Coca are both little more than a year removed from devastating lower body injuries, and their return meant that they had reached the end of long, arduous rehabilitation processes.

Pitt was unable to fend off Wake Forest on Saturday evening in Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons rode electric shooting from 3-point distance to their first conference victory of the season, 76-75.

Pitt (8-2 overall, 4-1 ACC), rode another game of dominance from first-year forward Justin Champagnie to a 79-73 win over Duke (5-4 overall, 3-2 ACC), the Panthers’ first over the Blue Devils since Feb. 2016. 

Pitt wrestling fell agonizingly short of an ACC title in 2020 before the postseason was called due to the pandemic. But despite a key roster loss, the 2021 Panthers still have their eyes set on hardware.

Justin Champagnie, Jeff Capel and Pitt men’s basketball all made varying returns from different absences on Saturday afternoon and the end result was a blowout 96-76 victory over rival Syracuse.

Despite multiple gutsy comeback attempts, Pitt men’s basketball (5-2 overall, 1-1 ACC) was unable to overcome the absence of two key players and its head coach on Tuesday night in a 64-54 loss to Louisville (5-1 overall, 1-0 ACC) at the Petersen Events Center.