117 thoughts on “Pitt at UNC Basketball Game Thread”

  1. maybe expecting the huge upset so need to split the avalanche of comments into 2 threads

    nah 🙂

    there will probably be more AD comments than PittMBB

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  8. Not sure what I’m watching here. Pitt is out hustling them and making some shots. Can this continue?

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  9. basketball is SOOOOOO fun to watch when your team is good, or at least has a great night,,,,, c’mon, keep it going!!!

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  17. Channeling my inner UPitt…. Why can’t we play like this all of the time if we’re capable of doing it tonight??? I’m speechless.

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  21. For anyone who cares, this is one of the most difficult situations to coach in for Capel. Soon you will see ref call after ref call for UNC. Pitt has to keep their heads.

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  27. Still don’t feel comfortable about this lead. Burton is ice cold. Gueye is on the bench. But they are playing hard

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    1. Best I’ve seen Collier play all year. Thought that Bacot would eat him alive when I saw him come in. Wrong again.

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  31. I have become conditioned to fear the last 5-6 minutes of Pitt games when we are in the lead. If we can avoid from fouling out. As I was typing Hugely draws #4.

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  58. torrent of comments!!!!!!!!!!!

    Great game by Horton, great early by Burton, great Odukale mostly, very good Gueye, very good Hugley, and extremely big COLLIER!!!

    H2P!!!!!!!!!

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  62. That should be a fun flight home. Wonder if there is any chance that a game like this keeps Hugley from considering a portal entry?

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  67. I saw that Coach K was too sick to coach the second half of the Duke game last night. Would be a shame if he can’t attend the tribute (I assume) planned for him in two weeks at the Pete.

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  68. Capel has done a great job of keeping this team together. They are a different team with Horton playing. And they held the lead in very hostile territory. Very impressive win!

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  69. as good as Pitt shot, there were many wide open misses

    turnovers both ways were massively high

    damn, that one was exciting start to finish!!!

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  70. Coach Capel making it tough for HL. Like most of us, she likely expected the team to crash and burn down the stretch. She might have mapped out contingency plans…

    And here Capel somehow steers the team to a 3 game win streak, including a big upset — messing up everything!

    Now what… 🤔

    Go Pitt.

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  71. Honestly did anyone see this level of play coming after the two game debacle against VT? Happy for the Pitt BB team. MM, Capel was never going to be fired this year. But there is no way HL ever extends his contract absent back to back 20 plus win seasons over the next 3 years.

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  72. Should be a better crowd at the Pete on Saturday. Should be fun for a change.

    This team has made so much progress over the season. It hasn’t been a straight line. There have been setbacks. But they are now fun to watch.

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  74. So this team played its best half of the season just 5 games removed from its worst half of the season. We have not seen this kind of defensive effort since the Dixon era.

    Without a doubt Horton is the difference maker, especially in the 2 road wins. Dan72 predicted this, it just took Horton a few games to get in the groove. There is also an unselfishness about this bunch that we haven’t seen fo a while. Big John is the best sice Blair dominated the Big East.

    Let’s hope the coach can keep them here and find a replacement for Mo, IKR, he is one of a kind.

    See you at the Pete on Saturday

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  78. Also very happy for Coach Capel after last year’s collapse, the complete opposite this year, most unexpected.
    Pretty obvious that the loss of Hugley last year and Horton this year had a major impact on results.
    Still a long ways to go but maybe…….

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  79. highlights, and the editor had the hardest job tonight cutting it down to these, probably could’ve had 3x the minutes they used here 🙂

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  82. Let’s not get too excited yet. We are still considered a quad 4 team, which is the lowest of lows.

    UNC is getting racked this morning AND last night on the major sports networks for losing their first game this season to a “lowly” quad 4 team. It is actually embarrassing as a Pitt fan to hear.

    Just keeping it real…

    I was highly entertained and on the edge of my seat in the last six minutes of that game. Good win for Pitt. There is nothing great about this BB season.

    OT: Rutgers is 10-5 in the B1O and 1 game out of 1st place.

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    1. All true but is still great to see our kids have some success. It is hard fought success to get off the bottom, when most were expecting another year end collapse.

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    2. anyone who didn’t get “too excited” watching last night’s game, well, better check for a pulse
      (I know you meant about the whole year’s situation EE)

      we ALL need to see some recruit and/or transfer success fast, then, maybe this crazy difficult year can be viewed through a different prism and somewhat excused,,,,, not entirely

      win more than 2 or make a 2-3 game run in the ACC tournament and THEN I’ll chalk much of this year up to bad luck and yet still need to see recruit or transfer success to have anything more than hope for Pitt BB with Capel

      .
      long way from expecting true success, so at this point last night excitement is appreciated, Capel has a long way to go, and yet right now this team could be fun to watch as it winds up the year

      that said, I’ll be shocked it they win more than 2 more games this year and just a small amount surprised if they don’t win another 1

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    3. Good points Rick, but there was a time when Pitt was expected to win no games in the ACC this year so the team has greatly exceeded that expectation and unlike previous Capel teams seems to be improving down the stretch. Not losing anyone to the portal will crucial for Capel now.

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  83. I have been brutally tough on Jeffress all year, so I’ll take a moment to praise him for some positive moments last night. First, his D on the three point shooters was excellent. He had 8 touches on offense with only one turnover. While his long range shooting form needs a lot of work (watch his shooting elbow out of proper position) he made a critical shot switching to his left hand in traffic in close which helped Pitt fend off a late UNC run!

    Very good effort and you can tell he’s been working.

    In fact, I can’t tell you the countless little things I’ve seen improve under Capel and staff! Not the least of which was the inbounds plays. I loved the home run long pass attempt over the UNC defense which did not connect, but forced their defense to back up and make more room up close. They bent but did not break! Hail to Pitt!

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    1. there were a few critical points that allowed Pitt to withstand the possible late collapse and that Jeffress basket was definitely one of them

      .
      unfortunately probably the other most critical one was on that inbound intercept when the pass upcourt by UNC was mishandled and immediately went out of bounds
      .
      UNC hits one there and MAYBE the full collapse happens, not sure but my HEART was glad we didn’t have to find out 😉

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      1. Hugley also seems to make it interesting down the stretch as well, last night with the hip, the previous games with a couple unforced errors. But the collapses have largely been avoided due to exceptional foul shooting which is also a new development.

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  84. Five teams are below Pitt in the ACC standings right now, including Louisville. I didn’t expect to see Louisville there.

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  85. It looks like good coaching to keep Hugely from early foul trouble. Dan, your comment about Jeffress had me wondering: Can good coaching help a player to improve his shooting form? I was watching X-Man the other night with a 3-15 shooting performance, and his form still sucked. So neither Pitt nor Indiana coaches have done much to correct it.

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    1. absolutely no real idea but I can’t imagine you can do much with BB shooting form at this point in these kid’s careers

      they’ve been shooting from probably the age of 5 or so and other than from different spots on the floor their body position dictates where they launch the ball from, they’ve shot 10’s of thousands of shots embedding their motion

      Jeffress shoots his outside shots much like X in that it is a low push from their chest, at his size his outside shot should never get blocked and yet it does, even by shorter defenders

      is Jeffress a gym rat kid who might work to change this? is any coach telling him to change that, IF in fact it is possible?

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    2. Player has to be willing to change but it can be done only in offseason. I’d be working with him to move his release point to the top of his jump, about 2 feet over his head. That fixes his elbow position. He will constantly be short on his shots w his current form.

      As for X, the reason he’s a streak shooter is he will never change. That includes his on/off court behavior. Good riddance !!

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      1. I am not a believer that at this age a person can change his shooting style that much, any more than a QB can significantly change his throwing motion (remember Bostic’s throwing motion coming out of high school? I knew he’d never make it as a starter). In my opinion, the best thing that can happen with Jeffress, if he is to become a D1 starter, is to get in a groove and gain some confidence. I do not think this will happen, but I hope I am wrong and I am not qualified to judge, just speculate.

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  86. It is hard to dispute what Erie wrote @10:28. Pitt is indeed a lower tier team, and while it has won a handful of league games, Capel has nowhere to go but up in that category.

    But I do feel a bit different now. A year ago, Pitt started 8-3 and everyone was pleased. Then it all fell about which led to the best 3 players leaving

    Now the team is on an uptick and it looks like the players not only play hard, they seem to mesh very well. I know there is some expectation that a couple of players may leave at the end of this year but I’m not so sure

    Hugley and Horton were given 2nd chances and I would have to believe they are very appreciative. Further, the 2024 commit is from Hughley’s high school. Don’t think that would have occurred if Hugley intends to leave

    Also, unlike last year, Burton is starting and getting a lot of PT …. And making the most of it. I will be surprised if any the starters leave as well as Collier, and Sibande has already indicated he’s coming back

    This will be the basics of a good team with just a couple of decent transfers added. Yes, this is Kool-Aid but there is reason for hope.

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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    1. If Capel can continue to manage the team’s chemistry he’s got a fighting chance to turn in around. He hasn’t won much in February so any improvement will be noted and allay fears that he is a total catastrophe.

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  87. One constructive criticism for Hugley. He has to learn how to use his left hand when shooting near the basket. He had a couple openings to just lay the ball in with his left hand but instead stopped, and pivoted back to his right

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

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    1. And he needs to lose 15lbs and strengthen his lower body so he can jump to the basket for dunks and layups. He shoots a lot under the basket with both feet on floor, often leaning backwards…You are no longer 6’ 8” when you shoot like that.

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  89. Third worst loss(for NC) in last 20 years one NC database analyst called yesterdays loss to Pitt. All previous losses this year were to teams most likely to all be penciled in for the NCAA tournament.

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  90. Life is short, so enjoy the little things as much as you can and want, including an unspet win in a disappointing season.
    Doing so does not mean you lose sight of the bigger picture; its just a moment to re-charge the fan batteries.

    If I didn’t have a tee time Saturday, I might’ve gotten in the car to come up… if only for the Hemingway’s pregame. 🙂

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  91. Now that Pitt/Capel is on a mini-roll, I have a few general thoughts:

    Pitt started playing well offensively in the NC State game (Florida st. win was awful play by both teams), and then continued that play against NC, and I think the common theme, or in other words ‘what was different’, amounted to much better ball and player movement. Everything else flows from that, offensively. Prior to those two games, they were largely a team that tossed the ball around the permiter and tossed up a 3 before the clock ran out, in Stallingesque fashion. I wonder what changed? Was an assistant involved in some of these changes? Did Capel get some advice from someone?

    Also, assuming Capel comes back next year (safe bet), and returns all of his players (or at least the ones that get pt), then I think priority #1 is going to be to replace Mo. We need a quality big, regardless of whether he’s 7ft or 6’8″, or even a bulky 6’7″ guy, but we need some support down low. It was encouraging to see Collier give solid minutes last night, it would be great if he could provide depth and develop further. I’d also love to see us add a PG and/or 3 pt shooter, even though Sibande will give us 3 nice guards next season.

    H2P

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    1. I agree with your analysis but I would add one more point to what’s changed. My opinion is that Horton is back full-time and hitting 3-pointers early in the game. That forces the opponents away from Hugely and allows Pitt to have an “inside-out” game freeing up other options and the team plays looser on offense.

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  92. Meanwhile, does anyone have any insight into why Xavier Johnson and 4 other Indiana players (including Parker Stewart) were suspended for a game?

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  94. That was a fun one to watch. I am one of those foot-stompers during games, but have an Achilles injury at the moment (thankfully not too serious) and had to force myself to keep it in a position where I could not stomp.

    Horton was a beast and they got strong scoring contributions from all of the starters, plus a few big buckets from Collier and Jeffress. Defense was impressive, except down the stretch, but with all of that foul trouble I can’t fault them for lack of aggression.

    Hugely and Odukale both still leave a ton to be desired on their decision making. It’s baffling at times. And I also keep imagining what this team would be like if Jeffress was anywhere near competent offensively. He is soooo timid in the lane and his jump shot form is just terrible. I don’t understand how you get to be a highly ranked recruit with shooting form like that. I guess it worked well enough in high school against the competition you get in Erie. I wonder if he comes back or transfers to a smaller school?

    I’ll take beating UNC any day though. Will be in person for GT on Saturday. Expecting/hoping that it will somewhat resemble the Pete of old.

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  95. I don’t think there’s any chance that Capel won’t be back next year. If Capel turns it around, he has Lyke to thank who gave him a chance after all the problems he had in Oklahoma and believed in him when most of us didn’t. It’s fair that we reserve judgment on Capel (and Lyke) on a game to game basis.

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