Two days after the fact, Jeff Capel was pleased Monday to point out many of the positive aspects of Pitt’s 74-65 victory against Miami.
“We guarded the ball. We didn’t get blown by (on defense). I thought we had good close-outs, and we understood who the shooters were,” he said. “Our gap help and our early help were there, the basic fundamentals of defense.”
The Hurricanes’ point total was the lowest by a Pitt opponent since the Eastern Kentucky game (96-56) Dec. 11 and the second lowest by an ACC opponent.
Capel was especially encouraged because his players stepped up while starting guards Damian Dunn (elbow) and Jaland Lowe (concussion) did not play. Dunn is out for the season, but Capel said Monday that Lowe has been medically cleared and will play Tuesday against Syracuse at Petersen Events Center.
Pitt’s coach is smart enough, though, to state the painful reality of his team’s late-season situation. Pitt (15-10, 6-8 ACC) probably can’t afford more than one or two more defeats to get into the NCAA Tournament, and one can’t be at home to Syracuse (11-15, 5-10 and a Quad 3 opponent).
“It was one game,” he said of the victory Saturday, “just like the other ones were that we lost. We move on from it.”
The series of must-win games continues when Pitt gives Syracuse a rematch after the Panthers’ 77-73 victory Jan. 25 at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The video from that game illustrates a serious problem: The Panthers don’t rebound well enough.
A problem all season, rebounding improved a bit against Miami, with Pitt showing a 40-33 edge. Yet the truth is that the Hurricanes’ are 17th in the 18-team ACC with an average of 31.8 rebounds per game.
Now along comes Syracuse’s 6-foot-11, 265-pound Eddie Lampkin, who grabbed 23 rebounds against Pitt, the most by any ACC player this season, including eight off the offensive boards. The transfer from Colorado averages 11 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, the latter number third in the ACC.
“We have to block him out and may have to do it with a couple of guys,” he said. “He dominated the glass and dominated the game (last month) from an offensive rebound perspective.”
Overall, Syracuse won the rebound battle 48-31.
“We have to pursue the basketball. We have to be quicker to 50-50 balls,” Capel said. “If the ball’s in the air, we have to jump to get it. We can’t just stand and think the ball’s going to fall in our hands. We have to pursue it with more urgency.”
The Orange have lost seven of their past 10 games under second-year coach Adrian Autry, who replaced Jim Boeheim before the 2023-24 season.
After a 20-12 rookie season, Autry needed to replace seven players, incuding Judah Mintz, a second-team All-ACC guard now playing in the NBA G League.
Aside from Lampkin, he brought in three other transfers from smaller schools: 6-5 guard Lucas Taylor (Georgia State), 6-0 guard Jaquan Carlos (Hofstra) and 6-7 forward Jyare Davis (Delaware). J.J. Starling (18.7 points per game) and Eddie Freeman (13.4) are Syracuse’s leading scorers, but Lampkin is the only transfer averaging double-digit points.
Plus, the team’s turnover total (322) is second worst in the ACC and its margin (minus 2.7) last.
Defense also has been an issue, especially in the past four games when opponents are averaging 87 points per game and outscoring Syracuse in the second half each time.
“Does it look great? No.” Autry said. “Where we’re at right now is not good.
“I’m always the optimist. I’m always trying to get better. Basketball is a game of runs. Teams can go on runs.”
Autry said his team isn’t tired at the end of games.
“What it really comes down to is focus for us,” he said. “When you come up short a couple times, more than a couple times, your attention goes.”
But he is encouraged by the presence of eight seniors.
“Our guys are still present. We’re still competing,” he said. “Once you stop having hope and belief, your season is done, and we still have hope and belief that we can win the next game and win the next game after that. It may sound corny, but that’s just how we’re approaching it. Having an older group we can deal with it a little bit better.”