In trying to pick the top moment of the season for Pitt men’s basketball, a short list of options emerges.
It would be hard to top Damarco Minor’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift Pitt over Ohio State at home Nov. 28. Similarly, the Panthers’ 34-point thrashing of Penn State in Hershey on Dec. 21 was impressive.
But Pitt’s dominant road victory Saturday at California, a 20-win team with NCAA Tournament aspirations, has quickly shot up the list.
“I thought we played really well,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “Obviously, Cal is a very good team. I think they’re a team that’s worthy of being in the NCAA Tournament. They reminded me a little bit of our team a few years ago that made the NCAA Tournament. Two really good guards that handle the ball, two forwards who can really shoot and a big guy that is coming off of injury but protects the rim, rebounds and scores around the basket.”
As far as Pitt’s league schedule is concerned, Cal ranks as the triumphant single-game decision of the season to date. The Panthers’ other conference wins have come against last-place Georgia Tech (Jan. 14), in overtime against Wake Forest (Jan. 27) and Notre Dame (Feb. 21).
Like Pitt (11-18, 4-12 ACC), Wake Forest and Notre Dame are on the ACC Tournament bubble, looking to secure a spot over the last two conference games of the regular season.
As Pitt gears up for its home finale against Florida State (15-14, 8-8) on Wednesday, recently playing an all-around solid game against a team such as Cal comes at an ideal time.
“Certainly, we had and have a lot of respect for them,” Capel said of the Bears. “But I thought we played really well. We shared the basketball, did a very, very good job defensively forcing turnovers, had nine steals in the first half and we were able to make some shots.”
A particular statistic from the Cal win that Pitt should look to replicate against the Seminoles is team 3-point defense. California made only 1 of 13 attempts from behind the arc in the second half and shot 5 of 22 (22.7%) in total.
While Florida State doesn’t possess one or a handful of truly lights-out 3-point shooters, the Seminoles fire from long range frequently, averaging just over 32 attempts and 10 made baskets per night.
Five players have attempted at least 112 3-pointers: Robert McCray, who leads the team with 15.6 points per game, Chauncey Wiggins, Lajae Jones, Martin Somerville and Kobe Magee.
“Obviously, with as many 3s as they shoot, especially if they’re hot and get going, they can put up points very, very quickly,” Capel said.
Though Florida State began ACC play with a five-game skid, the Seminoles have won seven of their last nine games entering Wednesday.
Playing away from home also hasn’t been an issue for first-year coach Luke Loucks’ squad, as Florida State has won its last four road games (vs. Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Georgia Tech).
“They’ve been playing very well as of late,” Capel said. “They have a very unique style from the standpoint of shooting a lot of 3s. They have a lot of guys in the court that can dribble, pass and shoot. They have great spacing and seem to share the ball really well.
“McCray is playing as well as anyone in our league — he’s the guy who stirs everything for them. Their defense of switching man and a mixture of one — I think they’re playing really well.”