Pitt Take 5: Busy week of finals, practice ends Saturday against South Carolina State
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Jeff Capel and Pitt athletic officials take a lot of local heat for keeping Duquesne off their nonconference schedule.
The schools are separated by 2 miles and both compete in Division I, but they haven’t played each other since 2018. That’s after meeting 87 times, starting in 1932. Pitt leads 55-32.
Capel carefully constructs his nonconference schedule to fit his team and its goals. At the end of the day, it’s his team, his program. He needs to do what he believes is best, even though fans would welcome and flock to the City Game.
He started this season with four mid-major opponents (4-0), followed by five consecutive games against power conference teams (2-3), the competition gradually getting more difficult.
This week, players juggled final exams and practice for the game Saturday against South Carolina State at Petersen Events Center. It’s possible by tipoff at 2 p.m., some mental fatigue might surface.
South Carolina State has lost eight of its first 11 games and will carry an 0-7 road record into the Pete. The Bulldogs have a 326 NCAA Net ranking out of 362 schools, second-worst among Pitt opponents to North Carolina A&T (359). They had lost seven in a row before defeating Jacksonville, 86-85, in overtime Monday. Pitt beat Jacksonville, 107-56.
While you’re doing that math, here are five storylines to consider before game time.
1. For the record
Duquesne (7-2) has a 71 Net ranking, which would be third-best among Pitt opponents, behind only No. 11 Clemson and No. 47 Florida and better than No. 88 Missouri, a team that defeated the Panthers on Nov. 28. The Dukes would have been a formidable opponent and would have attracted a bigger crowd to the Pete than what you’ll see Saturday.
Pitt (7-3) sits at No. 42 in the Net rankings, a curious spot given Florida’s victory against the Panthers on Nov. 22. The highest-ranked team among Pitt’s victims is No. 146 Canisius.
Capel won’t allow himself the luxury, but it’s never too early to start thinking about the NCAA Tournament. Pitt will need to start beating the better teams on its schedule to impress the committee.
Fortunately, the opponents start to get tougher next week and that trend will continue for the rest of the season. No. 73 Purdue Fort Wayne (10-1) visits the Pete on Wednesday for the last nonconference game, and the Panthers travel to No. 93 Syracuse (7-3) the day before New Year’s Eve for their second ACC encounter.
2. Not so fast
South Carolina State will present a challenge for the Panthers in one aspect.
The Bulldogs lead the nation in offensive rebounds (185), with an average that is fourth (16.8).
Davion Edwards, a 6-foot-6 junior forward, has grabbed 39 of his team’s missed shots, is averaging 10.4 points and shooting 52.9% from the field.
3. Milestone at the Pete
Pitt is approaching 300 victories at the Pete since it opened for the 2002-03 season. The Panthers are 296-88 there, and the victory total is tied for seventh in the NCAA since then.
The Panthers could reach the milestone next month, but the schedule isn’t easy. Home games in January include No. 9 North Carolina, No. 21 Duke, Syracuse and Wake Forest.
4. Don’t get in his way
Blake Hinson is having a terrific start to his season, and he has a four-game streak of scoring at least 22 points. He’s fourth in the NCAA in 3-pointers (42), 10th in scoring (21.9) and 16th in 3-point shooting percentage (46.7%).
His range is impressive, but equally so is the pressure he puts on opponents who are often smaller than him when he puts his head down, the basketball on the floor and drives his 6-8, 230-pound body toward the basket.
5. You can’t score without the ball
Capel trusts his players to choose wisely when deciding to shoot, and that green light has led to 622 attempts (13th in the nation) and a scoring average of 82.5 points (second to North Carolina among ACC teams).
Contributing to those stats is how careful the Panthers are with the basketball. Pitt has committed fewer than 10 turnovers in each of the past three games and five times overall. The Panthers are third in the ACC (16th in NCAA) with a 1.67:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.