PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Avenging their only loss of the season, the Panthers now back home facing Missouri in the SEC/ACC Challenge Tuesday night. It’s yet another challenge for this younger Pitt team.
After getting knocked around in a loss to Florida last Wednesday in Brooklyn, the Panthers bounced back with a 76-51 victory Friday against Oregon State.
“I was pleased we got off the mat,” said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel. “That was the first time we got punched and we got off the mat. That’s a really, really good sign. We’ve handled a little bit of success well. Now we’ve beaten a Power 5 team, how do we handle that?”
Missouri is 5-2 on the season with its best win coming over Minnesota, but also lost at home to Jackson State.
They are athletic and have four players over 6’10” including starting center Connor Vanover at 7’5”. The Tigers are fourth in the NCAA in blocks and 44th in steals. Capel says they play a chaotic game with a lot of pressure, lot of switching and they’ll play full court.
The Tigers will attack the Panthers, Capel said the first time they faced it was against the Gators. They handled it better against Oregon State and will need to again Tuesday and can’t get sped up or panicked by their defense.
It was the first time, in a college setting, that teams physically went after Bub Carrington. Capel said he handled it well and liked the adjustment of going to the hoop more against the Beavers. The freshman only had five points Friday, but five assists and six rebounds.
What Pitt has seen early in the season is they have options off the bench of players who have stepped up. He pointed out Guillermo Diaz Graham against Jacksonville, his brother with 14 points in the season opener, Will Jeffress’ defense against Florida Gulf Coast, Jaland Lowe with 10 points in a half against Binghamton.
“We need everyone pulling in the same direction which we have been about just being about us winning and what do I have to do to help us win,” Capel said. “The guys have had great attitudes about that.”
Rebounding has been a pleasant surprise for Capel about his team so far. They average over 48 a game with 16 on the offensive class, but the challenges are growing with Tuesday night, then defensive-minded Clemson and at West Virginia.
“In what we do and what I do, the results are wins and losses,” Capel said. “But for me, I look at growth. Are we getting better? Are we getting better in practice? Do we have the right attitude? If we take care of that stuff, it helps the results take care of itself.”
“I think we are pretty good. I think we have a chance. I think we have a chance. I’m excited about our growth possibilities going forward.”