Victory by Irish defined by defense, free throws
Pitt’s 88-81 loss to Notre Dame at the Joyce Center on Wednesday night was a red flag for a Panthers team working to prove it will be a tough team in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
Both Pitt’s shooting was alarming, but the scariest part of the Panthers’ game was a defense that has had problems over the past four games. It may not be an effort issue, but it’s one Pitt men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel needs to address if Pitt is going to win postseason games.
Good
The reason effort doesn’t appear to be Pitt’s defensive problem is rebounding. Pitt owned the boards against Notre Dame (40-33). But the biggest part that should have given Pitt a strong advantage in the final score was how the Panthers owned a 16-4 offensive rebound advantage.
Those numbers shouldn’t be surprising because Pitt is the ACC’s fourth-best offensive rebounding team, averaging 10.1 per game.The Panthers’ inability to on those numbers was a big factor in their loss — a loss that left them 21-9 overall, 14-5 in the ACC, and now needing a win against No. 16 Miami on Saturday to earn the top seed of the ACC tournament.
Bad
There’s no hiding it — Pitt shot terribly from the freethrow line and couldn’t find the range from beyond the arc. Efficient 3-point shooting comes and goes, but the freethrow line had been a barometer for Pitt’s final results this season.
Pitt made just 20 of 36 free throws (56%) against Notre Dame, the second-lowest rate of the season. The only game the Panthers shot worse from the line was in an 82-56 win against North Florida Dec. 17. But that mid-December win was the only time the Panthers won without shooting at least 70% from the free-throw line.
When Pitt shot less than 70%, the Panthers were 1-5. When they shot better than 70%, they were 20-4. Out of those five losses, three of them, including the loss to Notre Dame, were by a margin that was smaller than the number of free throws missed by the Panthers in those games.
The Panthers’ 3- point shooting wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t help their case either to make 7 of 22 for 32%. Still, that’s not even the 10th-worst shooting performance from beyond the arc. Pitt has also shown the ability to bounce back from off shooting nights. Bad days from the field can happen and be overcome.
But what Capel’s Panthers cannot afford is for their defense — a primary ingredient in their run to the top of the ACC — to fold.
Ugly
The Panthers’ defense should be a red flag with the ACC tournament starting in less than a week. Pitt not only allowed 88 points, the secondmost this season, but also a 49.1% field goal shooting rate to Notre Dame.
That’s the fourth game in a row Pitt has allowed an opponent to shoot 47% or better from the field. The Panthers are 2-2 in that stretch and 5-6 on the season when opponents eclipsed that mark.
Capel noted the Panthers needed to improve on their defense after their 79-72 loss to Virginia Tech on Feb. 18 and chose not to praise Pitt’s defense in a win against Syracuse Feb. 25 when the Orange shot 50%.
Pitt’s 69 points allowed a game, fourth-best in the ACC, and 41.7% allowed field goal rate on the season have been major factors in its best wins. If the Panthers are going to bounce back against Miami or in the ACC tournament, the brand of defense that has defined most of their season has to return.
The defensive mistakes didn’t appear to be an issue of will or want but rather of confusion. Notre Dame pulled off several offensive switches off picks that led to Pitt players being late in finding their assignments and allowing open shots. It also appeared the Panthers were more confused than normal about which players they needed to close on in Notre Dame’s deep shooting efforts.
Notre Dame guards Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan led the Irish with 20 points each. Hammond got multiple open looks on 3pointers that normally Pitt wouldn’t allow an opponent’s best shooter (40.7% on 3-pointers). Hammond was 4 of 6.
Pitt has been good about paying attention to its scouting reports and limiting how often that becomes a problem. If the Panthers are going to finish the season with an exclamation point both in the regular season and the postseason, those defensive issues must disappear.