Panthers Wreck Georgia Tech to reach 2-0 in ACC Play

The 24th ranked Panthers played their first game as a top 25 team in nearly two years on Wednesday night. Pitt had control throughout only trailing for one minute and four seconds. By the final whistle Dixon claimed his second ACC win of the season with a final score 89-84.

Recap-

The early minutes of the game saw Georgia Tech make a concentrated effort to pound the ball in the paint. Yellow Jacket forwards Nick Jacobs and Charles Mitchell were well fed in the post. Pittsburgh’s Rafael Maia did not back down from the challenge as he rebounded and defended extremely well. That defense provided with Pitt with the opportunity to make an early run, which they did not waste. At the 12:15 mark Georgia Tech head coach Brian Gregory was forced to call a timeout trailing 21-9. From there the Yellow Jackets managed to go on a run of their own cutting the lead to just two at one point. However, just as they did that Pitt once again strung together a 13-0 run headlined by James Robinson’s seven straight points. The last four minutes of the half were not good for the Panthers though, as Georgia Tech outscored them by seven to trim the deficit to six at half. The up-tempo attack by both sides saw the score at 42-36 for the halftime break.

The second half continued the trend of the end of the first, with the Ramblin’ Wreck fighting Pitt every step of the way. Adam Smith had two threes early in the half to bring it to just a two point lead for Pitt. Artis led the Panthers during that stretch as he too hit back-to-back three to keep them in the lead. No Pitt lead grew larger than six in the second half until the under 12 timeout when the Panthers went on a 16-4 run that stretched their lead to 15 points with 6:30 remaining. And that is when some craziness ensued as Georgia Tech’s Adam Smith went off. Trailing by 15 with four minutes left he hit two threes in a row. After several possessions of both teams scoring Pitt still had a comfortable nine point lead, until once again Smith drilled another three cutting it to a two-possession game. Smith would make two more jumpers to finish with 14 points in last 3:44 of gameplay. Pitt was able to stave off the impressive one-man show by consistently making their free throws down the stretch of the game, securing a 2-0 ACC record.

Star of the game for Pitt was once again Jamel Artis who is on some kind of hot streak. For the night he posted 18 points, five assists, and four rebounds on 6-13 shooting. The game saw four Panthers not named Jamel Artis in double figures scoring. Michael Young (17), Sterling Smith (11), Sheldon Jeter (10), and James Robinson (18), who added eight assists as well. Rafael Maia is final Pitt player who deserves recognition for his play posting seven points and a team high 12 rebounds.

 

Positives:

Jamel Artis- As it was already stated Artis is hot right now and because of that the Panthers find themselves on their current win streak. He controlled the offense throughout the game and with Michael Young in foul trouble he made sure Pitt never lost the lead.

Turnovers- Other than Artis, Pitt won this game because in 40 minutes of action they had just four turnovers. That is truly incredible, since they average around 10 per game, which is already impressive, and to cut that down even further is nothing short of amazing.

Free Throw Shooting- Who is this imposter Pitt team before us? It almost seems impossible for a Dixon led team to be this good from the line. After a subpar 3-6 at the line in the first half, they went an astonishing 22-24 in the second half. Make no mistake the charity stripe won this game.

Rafael Maia- After a tough loss to Purdue, Maia was plugged in as the new starting center. In his time he has rebounded exceptionally well and defended the post to the best of his abilities. He is a smart basketball player who has found his way in the Dixon system.

Offensive Execution- Throughout the contest Pitt did a great job of running their offense. Good shots were seen on a regular basis and as a result that is why they flirted with 50% from the field all night.

 

Negatives:

Michael Young Rebounding- Now Young was in foul trouble for much of the game, playing only 18 minutes. But that is no excuse for only one rebound by the starting power forward in a game. Dixon needs him to play big, because of their lack of size and last game Young failed to do that.

Interior Defense- Maia did battle all night down low, but make no mistake Pitt was still outmuscled on the inside. Georgia Tech’s Mitchell had 17 rebounds of which nine came on the offensive glass. This will be a problem area to watch moving forward.

First Half Driving- In the first 20 minutes of action Pitt attempted just six free throws and of those six four came in the last minute by Maia. The referees were clearly calling a lot of fouls and early on Pitt did not take advantage. The free throw ability of these Panthers means they should be doing everything their power to make it to the charity stripe.

Inability to Put Game Away- On three different occasions Pitt took a double digit lead and each time Georgia Tech responded by making it close again. After these Panthers make a run they need to learn how to keep that lead up. It is true they never trailed after the first minute, but against a better team that might be different.

Alonzo Nelson-Ododa- Before the season it seemed like his athleticism would be perfect for Jamie Dixon’s defense. So far that has been proved completely false and on Wednesday night Alonzo had three fouls in just five minutes of action. His game clearly has not translated well.

 

Offensive Grade: A-

The fast pace of this game would have hurt Pitt teams of past, but not this one. All night long they ran their offense to almost perfection. At almost 50% from the field it was clear that effort as paying off. The three point shooting looked solid as well hitting 6-13, which is just what they need to consistently succeed. The only real negative came from their lack of attacking the rim in the first half. In the second half they did just that and was why they got to the line 24 times in that 20-minute span.

Defensive Grade: C+

For the most part the defense was not awful, but anytime one player scores 30 points and goes 8-13 from deep it is hard to give too high a grade. Pitt was undersized down low all game and they battled hard as they could, which was encouraging to see. However, Georgia Tech scored seven points more than their season average while shooting around 48% from the field and that hurts.

Coaching Grade: B

Dixon did a good job getting the offense ready to execute at a high level, while also filling in different guys to sub in for Young who was in foul trouble. He got the best out of pretty much every lineup and that deserves recognition. But Adam Smith torched the Panthers for 30 points on only 16 shots, meaning Dixon needed to make some more defensive adjustments to slow him down.

 

Up Next:

The first true road game of the season awaits Pitt as they take on their rival the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend Indiana at 4:00 P.M. on Saturday January 9th.