Pitt was deficient in many areas Tuesday night in its 75-53 loss to No. 11 Duke in what started out as an energized Petersen Events Center.

The most dominant factor in the Panthers’ third loss in four games was the fact they had no answer for Duke 7-foot center Kyle Filipowski, who was nearly flawless with a basketball in his hand, hitting 11 of 12 shots (four of four from beyond the 3-point arc).

“We haven’t played anyone like him,” coach Jeff Capel said.

Also, Pitt couldn’t defend or shoot with the efficiency you might expect from a team playing its 16th game of the season, regardless of the opponent. Notre Dame nearly upset Duke on Saturday, but the Blue Devils never lost control of this game.

The Panthers (10-6, 1-4 ACC) allowed a 51.8% shooting percentage by the Blue Devils — it was at least 60% for much of the second half — and managed to convert only 32.8% of their own shots.

The outcome could go no other way, however, when you combine Duke’s talent with something else that two Pitt players believed hindered the team’s performance.

“They wanted it more,” said Zack Auistin, who was Pitt’s leading scorer with 11 points. “We lost the game because we just didn’t want it enough in that first half.

“We lost at home with a great crowd (season-high 11,476). It was more us not playing to our standard. Maybe we had some jitters because it’s Duke. We just can’t play like that in the ACC.”

Of Pitt’s efforts against Filipowski, Austin said, “Let him get too comfortable, I guess.”

Duke grabbed 42 rebounds to Pitt’s 26, and 7-footer Guillermo Diaz Graham said, “They didn’t miss a lot of shots. The ones they missed they got layups. You have to want to get the rebounds. I feel like they wanted it more than us.”

“We have to get all five guys in there to rebound,” coach Jeff Capel said. “We can’t just have two or three guys.”

Among the first remarks from Capel after the game centered on his gratitude for the atmosphere created by fans inside the Pete.

“I wish we could have matched what the crowd brought, the energy they brought to the game early,” he said. “Incredibly disappointed in our performance.”

Pitt had trouble getting into a rhythm on offense, whether one of the 10 turnovers were to blame or it was players’ inability to firmly grasp the basketball to take a shot when Duke players were swatting at it.

“We looked disorganized and that’s on me,” Capel said. “I have to do a better job with my team of making sure we’re prepared.”

Pitt provided almost no competition for the Blue Devils (12-3, 3-1), who led from start to finish and pumped up their advantage to 48-23 at halftime. Pitt didn’t reach 30 points until the 11-minute, 37-second mark of the second half after going nearly six minutes without scoring a point.

Bub Carrington pushed Pitt over the 30-mark with a 3-pointer, but that was after he missed his first 10 shots and before he finished 4 of 16 from the field. Pitt’s two best scoring threats — Carrington and Blake Hinson — recorded only 10 and nine points, respectively.

Hinson scored 21 points Saturday against Louisville, but he has totaled only 36 in the four other most recent games.

Capel said he will dissect this loss just like any other game. He believes his team must confront what happened and learn from it.

“I don’t believe in burning the tape. I think you learn from every experience you go through,” he said.

“My dad used to have the saying, ‘Sometimes you’re the bug, sometimes you’re the windshield.’ Today, we were the bug. We got splattered all over the windshield.

“Regardless of what happens, you have to wipe that you know what off and get back going.”

Pitt is off until next Tuesday, when the Panthers get a rematch with Syracuse at the Pete. The Orange defeated Pitt, 81-73, on Dec. 30 in Syracuse, N.Y.

“We have to learn from this,” Capel said. “We have to play harder. We have to be more physical. We can’t let guys just take the ball from us. We have to move more. We have to be able to adapt when teams do something different.”

Bottom line: “We didn’t give resistance.”

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