Pitt rallies from 11-point deficit for 71-68 victory against No. 20 Miami
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If you didn’t know better, you might too quickly call Pitt’s improbable 71-68 victory Saturday against No. 20 Miami a defining moment in a season of rebirth.
The truth: Sure, Pitt was down 11 points in the second half and eight with under 2½ minutes to play. But this wasn’t the first time Pitt (15-7, 8-3 ACC) defeated a ranked team by making big plays with the outcome in doubt.
Previously this season, Pitt defeated North Carolina (No. 25 at the time) and Virginia (No. 11) in games decided by big plays in the final moments. On Saturday, it was a flurry of events that came together in a raucous Petersen Events Center, sold out (12,500) for the first time since 2019. And with many members of the 2002-03 Big East champion — the Pitt team that first made the Pete special — in the house.
Jeff Capel talks about his team’s “individual pride” on defense. pic.twitter.com/uVHzzKn1ZJ
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) January 29, 2023
“Wow,” coach Jeff Capel said to open his postgame remarks. “What an unbelievable college basketball game. Two good teams fighting and competing.”
Perhaps the four most important plays of the game belonged to Jamarius Burton, and none of them involved him putting the ball into the net. Although he did plenty of that earlier, scoring 19 points.
More importantly, he made two of his three steals and grabbed two of his 10 rebounds at the end of four Miami possessions in the final four minutes.
With Pitt down 68-67 with less than a minute to play, Burton stole a pass from Miami’s best player, Isaiah Wong, but missed a layup. Blake Hinson, who led Pitt with 21 points, was there to clean up the miss and give Pitt a one-point lead with 31 seconds to play.
Then, Burton and Federiko Federiko smothered Wong under the Pitt basket, and Burton ripped the ball from Wong’s grasp.
After the ensuing foul, Greg Elliott’s inbounds pass hit the baseline, giving Miami a chance with seven seconds left. But there was Elliott, securing the Hurricanes’ inbounds pass when it popped free. He was fouled and made two free throws to set the final score.
On his 24th birthday, too.
Elliott’s plays typified how Pitt has won games this month (four of the past five after a two-game losing streak).
“The guy that turned it over, got the steal, got fouled, made two free throws,” Capel said. “That’s who we’ve been all year. My hope is that’s who we continue to be. We fought for 40 minutes. It’s something we talk about all the time.”
Capel knew this game would be one of the Pitt’s most difficult. Miami (16-5, 7-4) has hit hard times recently, alternating between victory and defeat (3-4) since Dec. 30. But the Hurricanes started the season 13-1.
“One of the things we talked about was we can’t get deflated if they hit tough shots because they have tough shot-makers,” Capel said.
Jordan Miller and Wong did that, scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively.
“But we kept challenging them,” Capel said, with a bit of pride showing through his voice.
What made Capel so appreciative of the victory was how it happened with defense. Miami didn’t score after going up eight with 2:26 to play while Pitt scored the game’s final 11 points: five by Hinson, and two each by Federiko, Nelly Cummings and Elliott.
“It starts with our connectivity on the defensive end,” Burton said. “We were communicating. All of us had the competitive drive, and we wanted this win bad.”
On his steal against Wong, Burton said, “I just wanted to be competitive. With the help of Federiko, I just wanted to make a play, and I did that.”
Pitt won in a decidedly different manner than its two-point victory against Wake Forest on Wednesday. After hitting a school-record 18 3s, Pitt made 9 of 22 — still 40% — but only 2 of 8 in the first half.
“It’s not always going to be pretty,” Capel said. “But as long as we’re together and we’re fighting for each other, the result at the end was beautiful. We have guys who are over themselves for the most part. They’re about the team. They just want to win, period. They don’t care who gets the glory. They want Pitt to have all the glory.”
Burton sees this season from a different vantage point than many of his teammates. He was on a Pitt team last season that was 6-14 in the ACC. Now, Pitt has eight conference victories with nine yet to play.
“I just have so much appreciation for this team and what we’re doing,” he said.
The result has been players and fans having a good time at the Pete again.
“We felt them. They gave us energy,” Capel said of the sellout crowd. “They were with us, even when we didn’t play well. We’re incredibly, incredibly grateful for that.”
Added Burton: “Last year, there weren’t that many fans in the building. That was in large part because we didn’t do our job. It’s great to see that many people out here supporting us.”