Pitt season-opening winning streak ends in loss to Florida
Share this post:
Not only was Florida the better shooting and more experienced team during its 86-71 victory Wednesday night against Pitt in the Preseason NIT Tip-off, but the Gators threw an element at the Panthers that other teams might try to mimic.
“Their physicality really wore us down,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said on the 93.7 The Fan postgame show.
Now, Capel and his players must try to do something to counteract it, starting at 3 p.m. Friday in the consolation game against Oregon State (3-2) at Barclay Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Oregon State lost to No. 13 Baylor, 88-72, in the first game Wednesday.
It was the first game for the Panthers against a power conference team after four season-opening victories against mid-majors North Carolina A&T, Binghamton, Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville.
“They have older guards and they were very physical” Capel said of the Gators (4-1). “It was the first time we had to face that (this season). It knocked us off. It frustrated us, and it led to us at times trying to do things on an individual basis instead of us executing together.”
Capel said Florida’s physicality led to Pitt taking too many ill-advised shots. Pitt led through most of the first half, but trailed through most of the second when Florida shot 53.3% (16 of 30) while holding the Panthers to 36.4% (12 of 33).
For the game, Pitt was especially inaccurate from the 3-point line, missing 24 of 34, and the foul line, hitting only 13 of 21.
”(Florida) being very physical, it sped us up,” Capel said. “We were itchy. We were in a hurry to do something, instead of just flowing like we’ve done all year. It is a teachable moment. Because of this, it is what other teams are going to try to do.”
Florida guard Walter Clayton led all scorers with 28 points, hitting 11 of 17 shots, including 6 of 8 3-pointers. Tyrese Samuel (6-foot-10) added 20 points and nine rebounds, taking advantage of Pitt big man Federiko Federiko’s foul trouble. The 6-11 Federiko played only 23 minutes, scored one point and grabbed four rebounds.
Pitt caught a break in the first minute of the game when Florida starting center Micah Handlogten (7-foot-1) fell to the floor, was injured and did not return. But Pitt couldn’t take advantage of his absence.
Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett scored a season-high 19 points and Blake Hinson added 16 while missing 6 of 9 3-point shots.
Freshman Bub Carrington was frustrated by Florida’s defense and managed 14 points, but seven came in the final 6 minutes, 15 seconds after the Gators had built a 15-point lead. Carrington had been averaging 18 points per game.
Momentum dramatically shifted from Pitt to Florida in the final 2:50 of the first half.
The Panthers scored the game’s first seven points and led 19-10 with 12:14 remaining before halftime. The Gators fought back while Pitt was missing 10 of 11 shots. Florida trailed 30-27 when it went on a 12-4 run to end the half.
The score was tied at 34 — the fifth tie of the half — when Clayton scored on a fast-break layup with 35 seconds left. Florida seized a 39-34 halftime lead when freshman Thomas Haugh hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Pitt had a foul to give that might have helped exhaust the clock, and Capel said his players tried to foul. None was called.
“We reached out and we grabbed. But that was a big play,” he said.
“I thought the way we closed the first half was something that — I’m not saying that was where the game was lost — but the momentum changed there.
“Over and over, when we turned the basketball over and then when we took shots that weren’t within the flow of what we were doing, they turned every one of those into points. We talked about how our offense has to help our defense and we didn’t do a good job of that.”
In the end, Florida scored 19 points off turnovers, 24 on fast breaks and 44 in the paint. Only Pitt’s early success prevented the game from being a total rout.
And it all started with the Gators’ toughness.
“I learned a lot of stuff about our basketball team,” Capel said, “and we’ll be better because of this.”