PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Panthers were on a roll, sweeping Syracuse and beating Duke. It came crashing back down allowing 15- threes in a one-point loss to Wake Forest Saturday.
It didn't end there.
They sat on a stationary plane in Winston-Salem following the night game for two and a half hours before the airline decided a mechanical issue couldn't be fixed. The team had to go back to a hotel and didn't get back to campus until around noon on Sunday.
Getting back so late and with tired legs, Pitt has been unable to do much more than meetings and film work getting ready to host 10-5 North Carolina Tuesday at 7p. A Tar Heels team that's won 5 of 6 and boasts three players who are 6'10" and another on that is 7'1".
"They're huge," said head coach Jeff Capel. "They rotate four bigs in. They have the two guys that they start with Armondo (Bacot) and Garrison (Brooks). I think Brooks was the ACC pre-season player of the year. Then they come in with (Day'Ron) Sharpe and (Walker) Kessler. Two McDonald All-Americans."
"They play until they're tired. They come out and bring in fresh bodies."
"For us, we don't have a lot of frontcourt depth. We are going to have to have everyone ready. Some guys who haven't played so much this season are going to have to be ready. They are going to have to be ready to come in and be physical, block out. If we can just do those two things, it helps us."
While not saying the names; that could point to 6'9" freshman Noah Collier-who has played five minutes since December 22. Maybe even 6'10", 230 pound freshman Max Amadasun. The center hasn't played an ACC game this year.
Not having suspended forward, big-body John Hugley really makes a difference.
"You know they are going to be great," Capel said of a Tar Heels team that is tops in the ACC with an 11.53 rebounding margin. "Not good, but great on the offensive glass. They punish you there. You know they are going to be great in transition. They punish you there. To me where they have gotten better is the maturation of their freshmen. Caleb Love, (Kerwin) Walton-his ability to shoot the basketball, RJ Davis-his ability to shoot and play make. This kid Sharpe has been incredible. With the maturation of their freshman, I think that's why they are playing so well right now."
Responding
How will Capel's team respond to the flop on Saturday?
"I think we have been good defensively with the exception of really two games," Capel said. "The first one and the last one that we played. Wake made us look bad defensively with what they did offensively. We've contested shots. We've been able to pressure the basketball. So I do think our defense has been good. Hopefully we can be a lot better than we were on Saturday."
Could teams skip conference tournament for NCAA
Capel asked on the ACC Coaches Teleconference on Monday if he believes in a scenario where a team locked into March Madness skips their conference tournament to try to avoid coronavirus complications.
"Depends on the team," Capel said. "If you are a team that knows they are in the NCAA Tournament. Do you take a risk of going?"
"I just want to get to that point. Hopefully for us, hopefully we play well enough that we are in sort of contention where we have an opportunity to make a decision to play."
Panthers pregame with Andrew Fillipponi and Panthers star Julius Page at 6p with tip at 7p on 93.7 The Fan.
