Pitt men’s basketball picked up, perhaps, the biggest win of the Jeff Capel era Friday afternoon, topping No. 25 North Carolina, 76-74, in front of a lively crowd at the Petersen Events Center.
WIth the win, the Panthers are now 10-4, including 3-0 in the ACC, good for first place in the conference.
“Really proud of my team,” Jeff Capel said postgame. “We fought for 40 minutes. We knew that they were playing really, really well right now. They’re as talented as any team in the country. But we fought.
“We got down early, but we stayed together. We stayed fighting.”
Jamarius Burton scored a game-high and career-high 31 points. He went 14 of 17 from the field. Blake Hinson added 16, including a massive 3-pointer to give Pitt a 70-67 lead with under two minutes to play.
“Jamarius was unbelievable through the whole game,” said Capel. “We rode him, he carried us, he made big plays, he defended.”
Hinson, who sat to the side of Capel during the postgame press conference, silently mouthed the word ‘crazy’ as Capel lauded Burton’s effort.
Pitt got down early in the game, trailing 26-17 at one point in the first half. But the Tar Heels lead never got to double digits, and Pitt was able to chip away as the game wore on, eventually building a 7-point lead of their own.
“The thing I was most proud of is that, even though we didn’t shoot the ball well — which we have the last few games — we still stayed together, we still defended," Capel said. "That’s a sign of maturity for our group, because in the past maybe we would’ve wilted. Even earlier this year, perhaps we would’ve wilted.”
“We just tried to stay even-keeled, stayed locked in,” Burton added.
There’s plenty of season left, and Pitt will have a number of difficult games to play. But this game felt important for the Panthers, and for Capel.
Speculation on another difficult season definitely was running rampant following lopsided losses to Michigan and West Virginia. Pitt’s also lost to VCU and Vanderbilt.
But, since that loss in Nashville, the Panthers have found another gear offensively, winning four straight and scoring over 80 points in three of those wins. They’ve also won nine of their last ten, including Friday's game, which is a statement win against a team that entered the season ranked No. 1 in the country.
And Friday, with school at Pitt still on winter break, plenty made their way to the Pete. And the atmosphere was appreciated by Capel and his team.
“I want to give a big shoutout to our fans, especially our students who showed up in the Oakland Zoo,” he said. “We felt their energy, we needed their energy and we fed on their energy”
That energy could keep building with more performances like what Capel has gotten from his group of late. And that's what makes what lies ahead for Pitt so interesting. They welcome No. 13 Virginia Tuesday and then host Clemson, 10-3 this season, to The Pete next Saturday.
Win those two… hello, Top 25?