At some point, sooner rather than later, Jeff Capel and his players know they will need to start producing actual victories as opposed to moral victories or positive takeaways to build upon for their next game.
Pitt (7-9, 0-3) had leads in its first two ACC games against Miami and Clemson, but couldn’t close things out.
Then, Saturday vs. Syracuse, the Panthers trailed by as much as 18 points, clawed back into the game down the stretch but were unable to dig themselves out of such a big hole.
“Obviously, it’s tough,” Capel said. “I don’t think we played as well Saturday as we had the previous two games, especially the first 22 minutes of the game. We fought and put ourselves in position where it was a two-possession game late and we had some opportunities, but we can’t not play well the first 22 minutes of a game, no matter who we’re playing.
“We have to try to stay positive. We can’t let the past affect where we are right now and where we’re going on Wednesday.”
As Capel alluded to, Pitt’s fourth crack at notching an in-conference win comes Wednesday on the road at Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets (10-7, 1-3) have beaten Boston College as their lone league win thus far and share losses to Syracuse and Miami with Pitt.
At McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, they are 10-2, but coach Damon Stoudamire is on guard against an incoming Panthers team that has shown flashes both at home and away.
“I think Pitt is a team that will come in desperate,” Stoudamire said. “They are playing really hard. They have good guards. (Brandin) Cummings had 29 this past weekend against Syracuse and they put a lot of pressure on you. They’re not necessarily a big team, but they put a lot of pressure on you.”
As Stoudamire observed from afar, Cummings was undoubtedly the bright spot for Pitt over the weekend, just missing out on a 30-point performance while shooting 11 of 17 from the floor.
That said, over his previous three games, Cummings had averaged only 5.7 points.
On top of navigating injuries and playing with a thin rotation, getting all of his offensive weapons to fire on the same cylinder has been a challenge for Capel.
Multiple players for Pitt will take the court at Georgia Tech looking to snap out of a funk, including Barry Dunning Jr., who is 0 for 7 the past two games on 3-point tries and just 3 of 18 (16.7%) in his last four games.
Dunning, who’s proven he can stroke it from long range, is a 34.6% shooter from beyond the arc on the year.
“We want Barry to continue to take those shots,” Capel said. “We trust him, we believe in him, but he’s just not made them.”
Then there’s Nojus Indrusaitis, who hasn’t hit a shot (0 for 12) since Pitt began conference play and is just 2 of 20 from the floor dating back to Dec. 21 against Penn State.
Frustrating for Capel has been observing players allowing their offensive woes to seep into the rest of their game.
“Sometimes when you’re struggling, and especially if the ball’s not going in — so many of these guys judge everything that they do by the ball going in the basket,” Capel said. “If it’s not going in the basket, a lot of times, it can cause you to lose confidence and affect every aspect of your game.
“Guys that are mature, guys that have experience, you understand that there’s so many different ways you can affect the game. That’s what we’re trying to get Nojus and all of our guys to do.”
Simply put, Capel needs his players to have short memories, especially when shots aren’t falling.
“Lose yourself into trying to make winning plays, whatever they are,” Capel said. “Loose balls, running hard, getting an easy basket, making a free throw, walling up on defense, taking a charge, being in a passing lane early, talking — all of those things that you’re not thinking about, ‘I can’t make a shot or I haven’t made a shot.’”
Things like communicating, disrupting passing lanes and battling through screens don’t show up on the nightly stat sheet. For Pitt, it all could add up to the missing extra boost that’ll finally lift the team to a league win.
However, Stoudamire is preaching to his players the necessity of doing all that dirty work, as well.
“Honestly, we’re a desperate team right now, too,” Stoudamire said. “I’m looking forward to the game. Probably, the more desperate team wins that game on Wednesday.”