The Pitt Panthers have played better offensively over the past few weeks. Saturday, they played a near perfect offensive game in a 89-76 win over the North Carolina Tarheels. Pitt had all 5 starters score in double figures, led by 22 points from Sheldon Jeter. The Panthers shot 65% for the game. That is the highest percentage ever given up by a Roy Williams’ led UNC team. North Carolina did not play poorly they just caught Pitt on a day where they could not miss.
The Panthers raced out to an early 10-0 lead just 2:30 into the game. North Carolina fought back and actually tied the score at 16-16 but the Panthers shot the ball like they were playing NBA Jam and had fire coming from their hands. They hit 8-15 threes and started the second half of the game shooting 10/11 from the field. Pitt ran their lead to 23 points midway through the second half. The Panthers were a bit sloppy down the stretch but the game was already well in hand.
Sheldon Jeter and Cameron Wright were sensational. Cam had 15 points and 10 assists. Jeter shot 10-14 from the field to give him a career high 22 points. James Robinson added 12 points and 8 assists. Robinson and Wright combined for 18 assists and 1 turnover. Jamel Artis scored 11 points and Michael Young added 13 points. Pitt also got 10 points from Chris Jones off the bench.
The Tarheels were led by Brice Johnson’s 19 points and Kennedy Meaks’ 15 points off the bench. All-ACC guard Marcus Paige struggled on 3-11 shooting with 8 points and 6 assists. North Carolina shot 49% from the field but it just was not enough to overcome the offensive clinic the Panthers showed.
The win moves Pitt to 17-9 and 6-6 in the ACC. This places them right on the bubble for the NCAA tournament. They now have two big wins against a top ten Notre dame team and now against a #12 North Carolina team. They will have another big chance on Monday when the face #3 Virginia.
The Oakland Zoo showed once again why they are the best student section in college basketball. Prior to the game the presented UNC coach Roy Williams a card with signed by members of the Zoo honoring the late Dean Smith. During the game the student section held up a banner with a quote from Dean Smith. True class shown by a basketball program that has always been classy with Jamie Dixon as it’s head coach.