PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pitt had its chances in the last minute, but a blocked three and a fast break turnover helped Clemson hold on for a 73-68 victory Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.
The Tigers (12-3, 2-0 ACC) grabbed the lead with about nine minutes to go and never gave it up.
For Pitt (7-8, 0-2 ACC) head coach Jeff Capel, it’s about a team trying to put it all together.
“We have to figure out how to win,” Capel said. “We have to be able to be poised, to not panic and be able to make plays under duress. To get timely stops, to make timely free throws, to understand personnel a little bit better and be able to figure it out through fatigue, fight through tired. I’ve seen it in spurts, we just got to continue to put it together.”
Capel said his team, playing against a second conference top 35 team in NET rankings, just wore down in the second half. The Panthers had leads at halftime both against the Tigers and Miami.
“We want to win and guys want to do so well so badly that they are trying to make something happen that’s not there, whether it’s on offense or defense,” Capel said, and then he provided a few examples
• ‘We over-help and they get a corner three.’
• ‘When we have the ball-handler under control, we over help. It’s coming from trying to do the right thing.’
• ‘We are forcing something offensively. It’s a two-possession game, we don’t necessarily need a three, we just need a basket. We panic and try and shoot a three over a 6’10” guy.’
• ‘We rush a shot’
• ‘We foul when we don’t need to foul’
“It’s a youth issue, it’s an inexperience issue and it’s not understanding how to win.”
“They want to win and we are trying. Sometimes you can want to win so bad that you get so revved up that you can’t think clearly. We have to be able to think clearly.”
14 straight
The Tigers victory was the 14th in a row for Clemson in the series.
“I don’t know, luck, basketball,” said Clemson head coach Brad Brownell. “Virginia has had my number for many years. Sometimes there are teams that, for whatever reason, good things seem to happen for you in that game. We’ve had so many close games with Pitt and Jeff’s teams and we’ve been fortunate to win the close ones recently.”
Up Next
Panthers are home to Syracuse next Saturday also at 2p, pregame with Bill Hillgrove and Curtis Aiken starts at 1:30p on 93.7 The Fan.