Pittsburgh Basketball: 5 takeaways from massive road win at Virginia Cavaliers

2. Freshmen guards came through

It was a bit worrying to see how the duo of Jaland Lowe and Carlton Carrington would do against this elite defense on the road since there's no backcourt depth on this roster. Reece Beekman (19 points) was the best guard but overall, the young Panthers still played well in their own right. Lowe finished with 12 points and a pair of made three-pointers, while Carrington had nine points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

They combined for 8 assists to just 4 turnovers and never looked out of place. All of their shots were good and the second half defense was strong. They had better scoring outings but this was one of their better overall performances together.

3. 3-guard lineup has been Pitt's best this season

The second-leading scorer for the Panthers was Ishmael Leggett, who scored 13 points off the bench in 29 minutes. He only shot 2/11 FG but had a game-high eight rebounds and three steals. He finished with a +24 in the +/- category, easily the highest of the group.

Starter Zack Austin hit a 3 early in the game and finished without any rebounds and assists in 18 minutes, posting a -15. In the now 7-man rotation, it's perfectly fine to have Leggett as the 6th Man, while Austin plays at the 4-spot whenever Hinson goes to the bench. But the ideal lineup for Pittsburgh includes having all three guards on the floor.