Pitt’s subs likely to get more work
negative plus/minus rating, which measures the difference in points between a player’s team and its opponent while he is on the court. The sextet had a combined plus/minus of minus-22.
Their limitations were best exemplified when four of them were on the court at the same time early in the second half. With Pitt leading, 58-43, Milligan, Wilson, Kithcart and Nix were on the court with star forward Michael Young for 1:21. In that brief time, Florida State got within 10 points and forced two turnovers.
The move was made, in part, to give many of Pitt’s starters a much-needed rest at a point in the game in which it had seized control. Over the long haul of a disappointing and frustrating season, it’s also a way to keep reserves who don’t see the court as frequently invested in the team.
“It’s a challenge, and it’s more of a challenge when you’re not winning,” Pitt coach Kevin Stallings said Monday.
“Losing magnifies problems, and winning solves a lot of problems. That’s one of the challenges of not winning is the guys that don’t play as much, they tend to be a little less engaged.
“It was nice to see those guys come off the bench and give us a shot in the arm the other day and give us good minutes and help us win.”
Luther improving
For the past five weeks, the bench has been without its most crucial piece in forward Ryan Luther, who is dealing with a stress reaction in his right foot that has kept him out of the past 10 games. Stallings said Monday it’s possible Luther might return this week.
He added, though, it’s doubtful the Hampton High School graduate will be back for the Wednesday game at Wake Forest, particularly since he hasn’t been a part of any contact drills in practice.
“He’s not ruled out, but I don’t know how much of a possibility it is for Ryan to play,” Stallings said.
“I think he’s going to go through some shooting stuff [Monday] in practice and see how he feels and evaluate him from that point.”
On the bubble?
Though Pitt’s NCAA tournament hopes appear dim at 15-12, it finds itself part of the oft-discussed bubble about three weeks before the 68-team field is revealed.
ESPN and NBC Sports have the Panthers listed as one of its “next four teams out,” putting them among a group of eight teams that narrowly missed the cut for inclusion. ESPN’s mock bracket includes 10 ACC teams, which would put the conference just one program shy of the singleseason record.
Pitt is No. 60 in the most recent RPI rankings, which are weighed heavily during the NCAA tournament-selection process. It is 6-10 against RPI top-100 teams this season and is 3-5 against teams in the top 20.
Three of its final four regular-season opponents, all but No. 75 Georgia Tech, are among the RPI’s top 40 teams.
Its schedule, according to the ratings system, is the 11th-most difficult in Division I.