Pittsburgh Basketball completes a key three-game stretch with a victory over the UNC Tar Heels. How did the Panthers do it and are they a tournament team?
Coming off wins over Wake Forest and Miami, Pittsburgh Basketball was on the road taking on the UNC Tar Heels, who may have been looking ahead to its big matchup against Duke. The Panthers can’t afford to look ahead, with them sitting squarely on the bubble. But a chance for a Quad 1 road win was available if they could pull off the win.
There were a number of min-runs throughout the game, but Pitt had a seven-point lead with six minutes to go. North Carolina, who shot 35% in the game but managed to get 15 offensive rebounds, got the lead with under a minute left.
The Panthers, thanks to two free throws from Jamarius Burton in the final seconds, were able to pull off the 65-64 road win to move to 16-7 overall and 9-3 in ACC play. Next to beating Virginia at home, this is the most important win of the season and completes a regular-season sweep of UNC. Here are some takeaways from the hard-fought win.
Nelly Cummings starring performance
In three of the past four games, the Colgate transfer was in single-digits scoring and shooting a combined 11/44 from the field. But Cummings broke out of the slump in perfect timing, scoring a team-high 21 points on 8/11 shooting, including 5/6 from three-point range. There were two slumps for the Panthers, one in the first and second halves. And it was the senior guard that managed to end them with a flurry of baskets to give the team the lead.
In a game where Greg Elliott only made two shots total and leading scorer Blake Hinson was 1/7 from the field, the Panthers needed to find offense to keep up with the potent Tar Heels. Cummings third 20+ point game was crucial for Pittsburgh to win, even despite fouling out at the end.
Federiko Federiko outplays Bacot in another second half
One of the more underrated storylines in the ACC is the play of former West Virginia commit Federiko Federiko, who in place of John Hugley, is averaging around 35 mpg at center. His interior play has been huge and arguably outplayed star big man Armando Bacot in the second half of last meeting, limiting his impact.
In this game, Bacot finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds but on 3/10 shooting from the field. Federiko ended up with eight points and rebounds, along with three blocks. On paper, this is a matchup that UNC should dominate but between the sophomore center’s play and Pitt making timely double-teams, they were able to neutralize the opposing team’s best player and stay in position to win the game late.
Pittsburgh Basketball is an ACC title contender
Not only was this another Quad 1 road win for the Panthers’ resume but this moves them to the top 3 of the ACC standings at 9-3. And with eight games left, they only take on the bottom half of the conference outside of a road game at Miami. That includes one game each against the bottom-4 teams in the ACC.
Meanwhile, Virginia, who is one game back in first place, still has games against Clemson, Duke, NC State, and UNC. As for Clemson, they still have to take on Miami, along with UNC, NC State, and Virginia on the road. This is a scenario that favors the Panthers, who now have a legit chance for a regular-season title with a few weeks left in the season.