Pittsburgh Basketball's win streak is up to five games after a dominant 86-59 win to complete a season-sweep over Louisville. There was a rough opening period in the first half when Coach Jeff Capel received a technical for arguing with a ref. The Panthers had some foul calls go against them and they were trailing early but a big run, led by Blake Hinson, pushed them to a big win to move to 8-6 in ACC play.
Here are some takeaways from the victory.
1. Blake Hinson's career evening
There was no stopping Hinson, who had 27 points in the first half alone to equal all of Louisville. He didn't cool off in the second, finishing with a career-high 41 points, tying his own record with nine made three-pointers. He's now averaging 19.2 ppg on 43% shooting from three-point range, averaging over 50% shooting from deep in the last eight games alone.
On a night when the guards weren't doing a ton of scoring, Hinson's ability to go off will always keep Pittsburgh in games. And after a night like this, he's made a case for ACC Player of the Year.
2. Mature performances from freshmen guards
Combined, Jaland Lowe and Bub Carrington had just 15 points on 5/19 shooting from the field, with most of Lowe's points coming late in garbage time. But they managed to affect the game in other ways, grabbing 10 rebounds together and dishing out 13 assists to just two turnovers.
When Ishmael Leggett was benched due to foul trouble early, neither guard got in foul trouble either, while still playing good defense on the Louisville guards. It was a nice all-around effort for the freshmen duo, who continue to impact the game outside of making buckets.
3. Federiko's solid two-way game
It won't get noticed much but the junior center played 28 minutes as the starter, producing eight points and eight rebounds. But even more important was Federiko's defensive effort on Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, limiting him to just 12 points and three rebounds in 29 minutes.
In the previous four games, the emerging Cardinal center was averaging around 20 ppg and 9 rpg and becoming a focal point inside. Federiko essentially playing Huntley-Hatfield to a draw all but guaranteed a Pittsburgh win. He's been playing his best basketball as of late, which coincides with the team doing the same thing.