Pitt Basketball: Panthers Fall At North Carolina In Another Close Battle
By Brett Tunno
Feb 15, 2014; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard James Robinson (0) and North Carolina Tar Heels guard Marcus Paige (5) battle for a loose ball at Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center. Mandatory Credit: Liz Condo-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off of a devastating buzzer-beater loss to Tyler Ennis and the No. 1 Syracuse Orange, the No. 25 Pitt Panthers traveled to Chapel Hill to square off against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon.
No one knew how Pitt was going to respond in this one. After North Carolina led by as many as 12 points in the second half, Pitt cut the lead to 74-71 with 23 seconds remaining, but Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna both missed shots near the end of the game, and UNC hung on for a 75-71 win.
The Panthers (RPI rating of 27) were looking to strengthen their tournament resume against UNC (RPI of 33). Pitt’s lone win against a Top 50 RPI squad was Stanford (46). All of Pitt’s losses have been against top 50 RPI programs (Syracuse 3, Duke 8, Cincinnati 14, and Virginia 17).
Pitt (20-6, 8-5 ACC) has now lost five games by five points or fewer, and the remainder of their schedule does not feature a top opponent.
North Carolina (17-7, 7-4 ACC) entered the matchup against Pitt on a five-game winning streak, whereas Pitt was 2-3 in its last five. Pitt is one of five teams in the top 30 in offensive and defensive efficiency (Wichita St, Louisville, Iowa, and Utah).
UNC is now 4-1 against ranked opponents, and leads the all-time series against Pitt 8-1. Pitt’s only win was in March 1941. Before today, the last meeting in Chapel Hill was in 1996.
For Pitt, Patterson finished with 16 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists. Freshmen forward Jamel Artis had one of his strongest games as a Panther, scoring 13 points and seven rebounds. For UNC, junior forward James Michael McAdoo had a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds (seven offensive), and sophomore guard Marcus Paige scored 18 points (5 of 6 from three), four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
In the first half, Patterson and junior guard Cameron Wright each scored six points, but both players fell into early foul trouble with two each. For the Tar Heels, McAdoo scored 12 points and five rebounds and Paige added seven points.
Pitt started the game strong, jumping out to an 8-2 lead, and its largest lead of the half came off a Patterson 3-pointer to make it 18-11 Pitt at the 11:12 mark. For the final six minutes of the half, UNC went on a 12-4 run to lead Pitt 35-31 at the half.
Pitt uncharacteristically committed 10 turnovers (James Robinson had three), which could be attributed to UNC’s pressure defense and wingspan.
In the second half, UNC jumped out to a 61-49 lead on a Brice Johnson free throw with 8:51 remaining. Down the stretch, the Tar Heels missed several free throws, allowing Pitt to mount a comeback.
Senior center Zanna was virtually a no-show, as he was dominated in the paint by UNC, but freshman Artis was a bright spot, scoring 11 points in the second half.
UNC proved to be too long and athletic for the Panthers, who had no answer for McAdoo. Though Pitt had 17 offensive rebounds, they allowed UNC to have 16 of their own.
Pitt is truly missing injured sophomore guard Durand Johnson, a 3-point shooter who was averaging 8.8 points per game until a severe knee injury last month. He could have been a factor in many of Pitt’s close losses down the stretch.
No. 25 Pitt will host Florida State on Sunday, Feb. 23, and North Carolina will travel to Florida State on Monday.
Brett is a staff writer for City of Champions. Follow him on Twitter.