The Petersen Events Center shuts its doors on college basketball until next fall Saturday when Pitt meets Boston College.
Pitt (16-14, 7-12) has won its past two games with the Eagles by 19 and 25 points, but this is not the Pitt team of Blake Hinson and Jamarius Burton.
This one struggles to score points or make defensive stops in crucial situations and gives up too many offensive rebounds. This one has lost 12 of its past 16 games, a worse stretch than the 5-11 record that closed out the miserable 2021-2022 season.
Coach Jeff Capel was so calm during his postgame remarks after the loss to N.C. State on Wednesday, you wonder if he was biting hard on his lower lip.
“We fought hard. It was not good enough,” he said.
The Panthers are tied for 11th place with Florida State and Notre Dame while Boston College is 17th in the 18-team ACC. No matter what happens Saturday, Pitt can finish no higher than 10th, which means a first-round game Tuesday in the ACC Tournament in the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Meanwhile, some thoughts from around the Pete and the ACC:
1. How much is too much?
There are those who believe Capel pushed the physical limits of Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett by keeping them on the floor too long. Lowe is averaging 35.4 minutes per game and Leggett 35.3. Zack Austin checks in at 32.3.
That doesn’t leave much time to catch your breath. But it’s not enough for those three to be among the top 10 ironmen in Pitt history.
The leader since 1979 is Vonteego Cummings, who averaged 40.1 in 1998. (Pitt played three overtime games, two that went into double OT). Everyone in the top 10 averaged at least 36.8 minutes, but they all played before the turn of the century when Pitt teams rarely played more than 29 games. Pitt will play at least 32 this season.
A case could be made that Capel did not make proper use of freshmen Brandin Cummings and Amsal Delalic, who are averaging 15.1 and 13.3 minutes per game. Delalic shot 46.6% and Cummings 43.8% from the field.
But if Damian Dunn hadn’t missed 14 games with two separate injuries, Capel would have felt more comfortable resting his star guards.
2. 50-50 guy
Long-range shooting and shot-blocking involve making and preventing baskets all over the court, and Austin has proven he knows his way up and down the hardwood — and what to do when he gets there.
He is only the fifth ACC player to record at least 50 3-point field goals (53) and 50 blocks in a season. He joins Duke’s Shane Battier (twice), North Carolina’s Danny Green, Clemson’s P.J. Hall and Boston College’s Quinten Post in that exclusive grouping.
3. Kelsey, coach of the year
Not sure how anyone could vote for someone other than Louisville’s Pat Kelsey for ACC Coach of the Year.
He has lifted the Cardinals from last place in the ACC in 2023-2024 (when they were 8-24, 3-17) into a tie for second (24-6, 17-2) with Clemson. A total reversal of fortune by the first-year Cardinals coach.
He’s also insightful when presented with tough questions. Speaking on the ACC coaches’ conference call Monday, Kelsey said NIL may actually be good for the overall health of college basketball.
”It’s hopefully going to raise the level of our game in terms of the overall talent level because more of the better players are going to want to stay here,” he said. “I don’t care if they are pseudo-professional athletes. The collegiate stage in a big-time Saturday conference game, man, there’s nothing like it.
”Now that the Super Bowl’s over, baseball is in spring training, the spotlight is on our great sport. Are there things that are messed up? Yes. But there are things that are messed up in every sports league, in every industry around the world. There is always room for improvement. That’s probably for another time, another interview.”
4. Is 18 too many?
After the ACC expanded to 18 schools, conference officials decided — most likely out of logistical necessity — that their basketball tournaments couldn’t handle that many teams. Only 15 will be part of the tournament.
That will leave N.C. State (12-18, 5-14) unable to defend its championship after it won five games in five days last season. After defeating Pitt on Wednesday, N.C. State was eliminated when Notre Dame beat Stanford two hours later. Boston College and Miami will join N.C. State on the sideline.
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“I think they should (try to include all teams),” BC coach Earl Grant said, noting there wasn’t much pushback when the decision was made last year. “We played our best basketball in the ACC Tournament. We’ve been knocking on the door of the semifinals every year.”
That’s true — in two recent seasons.
In 2022, BC defeated Pitt and Wake Forest to reach the quarterfinals where it lost to Miami in overtime.
In 2024, the Eagles defeated Miami and Clemson before losing in the quarterfinals to Virginia, also in overtime. Boston College was 5-3 in March last year, even defeating Providence in an NIT game.
This season is different.
Boston College will bring a three-game losing streak into the Pete. But it should be noted that the Eagles put a bit of a scare into No. 11 Clemson on Wednesday before losing, 78-69, at home. It was a one-possession game inside of four minutes to play.
Also, four BC games have gone into overtime, with three losses (triple OT at Syracuse, double OT vs. Notre Dame and one extra period at North Carolina). Way back in November, Boston College defeated Missouri State in OT, 76-74.
5. Watch out for the Hand
Funny thing about Boston College’s loss to Clemson: The Eagles’ leading scorer and rebounder Donald Hand Jr. scored only three points in 37 minutes, missing nine of 10 shots.
That had to be a surprise for Grant, who called Donald “one of the top three guys I’ve been around in 25 years of coaching.”
“His, attitude, his character … just his ability to be an everyday guy and his work ethic,” Grant said Monday. “He’s in the gym every day. We got back from California (on Sunday) night and he’s in the gym (now).”
Hand, a 6-foot-6 guard, is averaging 15.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.