On Tuesday night the Panthers managed to avoid a four game losing streak by narrowly escaping Wake Forest 101-96 in double-overtime. The win moves them to 7-6 in ACC play, while more importantly keeping their tournament hopes alive.
Recap:
Chris Jones started back-to-back games for the first time this season, and it looked like the right decision immediately. On the first two possessions of the game he drilled he a three-pointer. However, the Panthers’ good fortune only lasted so long. Wake Forest pushed the tempo the entire first half, which played in their favor. Guided by Bryant Crawford the Demon Deacons amassed a nine-point lead with under nine minutes in the first half. Jamie Dixon’s squad turned up the heat defensively, putting together a 15-3 run to take a lead into the intermission.
Up 35-33 with the second half beginning, all the momentum was on Pitt’s side. They utilized that well pushing the lead to 10, thanks to a Michael Young and one lay-up. At that point the Panther offense would come to a screeching halt, not making a field goal for seven minutes. They were 0-11 from the field in that time frame. Wake Forest capitalized on the poor Pitt offense by going on a 17-4 run. The Panther offense regained its’ legs slightly to tie the game a 69 apiece. This is where the craziness started, Wake Forest’s Konstantinos Mitoglou hit a three only to see James Robinson hit a step back three of his own to tie.
In the first overtime the craziness not only continued, but ramped it up to a whole new level. After Jones missed a free throw to put Pitt up by three with 1:24 left, Cornelius Hudson hit a corner three to give Wake the one point advantage. On the ensuing Panther possession Jamel Artis was ripped attempting to take it to the rim. It looked all but over until Hudson missed both of his free throws. Robinson came down the court looking to give the home team the one point win, on the possession Ryan Luther was fouled and headed to the line to tie or possibly win. He missed both, but Robinson was able to steal the inbound pass, and get the foul. He would miss the first and make the second free throw sending it to another overtime.
In the second overtime, Pitt had an 88-86 lead until Hudson hit another big three. Artis was able to respond with a big jumper right back. Back-to-back Panther stops, a Sheldon Jeter jumper, and two free throws by Robinson finally gave them the cushion to win. When it was all said and done Pitt had a 101-96 win.
James Robinson was the star of the game not only by hitting big shots, but also flirting with a triple double, putting up 22 points, nine assists and ten rebounds. Other stars from the game include Jones with 23 points and five threes, as well as Young and Artis who scored 19 apiece.
Positives:
Backcourt- Robinson and Jones have received their fair share of criticism, most of it deservedly. However, Tuesday night they played spectacularly. It does not seem likely to be a regular occurrence, but they delivered when it was needed.
Tournament Hopes (For Now)- Losing this game would all but end any chance Pitt had at making the big dance. Wake Forest was 1-12 in the conference before the game and a bad loss like that destroys a resume.
Winning a Close Game-All but one of Pitt’s losses was by at least 13 points and the other one was a two point loss to Miami. As well, their wins have been by a solid margin, making this an inexperienced team when it comes to close games. Winning this at shows they have the ability to pull out a close game.
Negatives:
Offensive System- The offense has been downgraded to shooting the ball at the rim and hopefully the first or second offensive rebound leads to a lay-up. There is no flow or rhythm during the game and it is horrible to watch.
Defensive Rotations- Wake Forest ran the pick and roll for much of the game, relying on Pitt’s slow rotations to get an easy look. If Wake Forest can take advantage of that, imagine what a team line Duke could do.
Young and Artis Turnovers- Eight turnovers combined for the two of them, the team had a total of 10. They do handle the ball more than anyone else, but this level of turnovers by your supposedly two best players is unacceptable.
Team Grades:
Offensive Grade: D+
The offense had plenty problems even though they scored over 100. On the night they shot under 40% from the field, just at 30% from three, and missed clutch free throws throughout the end of the game. All of that, plus a seven-minute scoring drought and an offense that has not flow is why the grade is so low.
Defensive Grade: D+
Wake Forest was over 50% from the field and 40% from three, while getting to the line 29 times. Also, the defense was slow to get back throughout the night and shooters were regularly left open. The only reason the Demon Deacons did not score more is because they shot 12-29 at the line.
Coaching Grade: C
Dixon did enough to get the win, so it is not a complete failure. But his offense and not playing Jeter more are just confusing. This game easily could have been a loss and that is something that gives little confidence to the Syracuse game Saturday.
Up Next:
A rematch against rival Syracuse, inside the Carrier Dome, on Saturday Feb. 20 awaits the Pittsburgh Panthers.