Chansky's Notebook: Punitive Play

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Carolina shot abysmally against Pitt and paid for it dearly.

The Tar Heels were outsmarted, out-toughed and obviously outshot by an opponent that played and acted like it was from the Steel City. The Panthers of ex-Dukie Jeff Capel may have left his archrival needing to win at his alma mater like last season’s memorable Quad 1 upset in Durham.

Except that game doesn’t follow four wins in a row like in 2022. It comes in three days against the Blue Devils, who with decidedly different rosters are still smarting from having lost 4 of the last 5 to the hated Heels.

The shooting against Pitt’s ultra-aggressive defense was near season lows from the floor, 3-point arc and foul line: 35 percent overall, 19 percent on way-too-many 27 3-pointers and missing 9 free throws are not very good.

The only starter in white and blue who was more accurate than his stats coming in was Caleb Love, who made 8 of 18, including 4 of 11 from downtown. Love drained his fifth seconds after Armando Bacot traveled while finding him with a pass in the left corner.

Hubert Davis would not blame his namesake’s worst shooting night of the season on an injured finger after R.J. Davis missed 12 of 15 and all 6 from outside. “He had some good looks, they just didn’t go in,” Hubert said.

Also contributing to this offensive disaster was Bacot, who never looked dominant and went 3-for-10 and 9-for-15 from the foul line. He was surrounded and manhandled by Pitt’s smaller-but-more-physical front court, and the Heels did not hit enough of the open shots that strategy allowed.

Just as he had in the first game in Pittsburgh, where he scored 31 points in that 76-74 win, Jamarius Burton took control after going scoreless for the first seven minutes. Of his 19 points, most of them were again Carolina killers. And the last two of his 6-for-6 free throws were the final points in the 65-64 victory that moves Pitt (9-3) comfortably ahead of UNC (7-4) in the ACC standings and climbed in the NET rankings for NCAA tournament seeding.

The Tar Heels’ best stretch was a late 13-2 run that produced a six-point lead. But Pitt’s high scorer Nelly Cummings answered with three straight long balls that recaptured the advantage until Bacot’s two free throws ended a gallant comeback that produced Carolina’s last short-lived lead. Hubert Davis summed it up with the truth that “we just didn’t play well enough to win. We were up by 1 and needed a stop or a score and got neither.”

The home crowd was again at its raucous best, trying to pull its team through before filing out into the cold and rainy night. It wound up like that after once seeming so promising.

Featured image via Todd Melet

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Chansky’s Notebook: Punitive Play

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