Sheldon Jeter picked a perfect time to pick up a career-high 22 points as the Panthers (17-9, 6-6 ACC) were searching to get back to .500 in conference play and add another signature win to its NCAA Tournament resume (Notre Dame being the other). Jeter, in his second start of the season, ignited the Panthers en route to him shooting 10-of-14 from the field with only two turnovers in 35 minutes of play. Jamie Dixon's Panthers combined to shoot an absurdly high 64.9% from the field in this game, knocking down 8-of-15 three pointers and lighting the Heels up with basket after basket. Six Pitt players finished in double figures and the Panthers reached these numbers seemingly effortlessly as the Tar Heels never could grasp firm footing on defense. The Pitt offense was so efficient that they produced 37 field goals off of 30 assists, which was the second highest amount of assists a North Carolina squad has given up in its history. The Heels inability to dig deep on defense and guard the opposition was a big help in building the Panthers' confidence as their shots kept falling. Sure, one can say that if a team is shooting that lights-out, then there is no way of shutting them down. There is some truth to that, but I don't buy it. And, neither does Coach Williams.
"What you can do is guard them better," said Williams. I really believe that the better you guard them, the less likely that they're going to shoot 65 percent for the game."
Pitt opened the game with 10 straight points, sending an early statement to the Heels and led by 14 at the break, 48-34. Right out of the blocks in the second half, the Panthers drained their first seven shots and by the time the first official timeout arrived, the game was pretty much over with Pitt leading 63-45. Carolina had no firepower to answer the offensive arsenal being showcased by the Panthers. Marcus Paige had an awful day shooting the ball, only scoring eight points on 3-of-11 shooting (1-of-7 from 3 pt range) and without any perimeter offense there was no way the Heels were going to make a ferocious comeback in this one. It was clearly evident by Carolina's body language that Pitt had worn them down into submission and the fact that UNC's perimeter game was non-existent, the final outcome was never in doubt from the 14:45 mark in the second half on.
"That was their 'A' game," Paige said solemnly. "We didn't bring ours, anywhere close to ours. They needed a big win. They saw this as a great opportunity and took advantage of it."
After blowing a lead to Louisville on Wednesday night and being criticized for not manning up enough, the Panthers responded in a big way against the Heels. "Our toughness, our manhood got questioned after the Louisville game," exclaimed Jeter. "Tonight we showed how much of men we are."
Brice Johnson led the Heels with 19 points and Kennedy Meeks had a decent bounce-back game from his two previous sub-par outings adding 15 points. Carolina was effective in the post early on and took full advantage of its size and strength downlow. The Heels kept it close early in the first half, tying the game on three occasions, but never gained the lead. UNC just could not overcome the offensive explosion on the other end of the court. Johnson and Meeks were the only Tar Heels to score in double-figures and with all the shots falling for Pittsburgh, rebounds were not plentiful on the defensive end. Johnson and Meeks only snagged three rebounds apiece and that is about five rebounds below their season average.
"We were scoring but when they're not missing a shot, it's hard," Johnson said after the game. We're a really good rebounding team but if it's going through the net, there's nothing you can do about it."
I would have to disagree with Brice's last comment. As I mentioned earlier, there is always something a team can do better and, in this instance, I believe guarding the opponent much closer and with much more aggressiveness could have created more difficult shots for the Panthers and, in turn, dropped their shooting percentage a little more.
Either way, Pittsburgh was really, really good Saturday afternoon. The Panthers only turned the ball over five times. Cameron Wright dished out 10 assists for Pitt and had zero turnovers. The Heels were unable to turn the Panthers over which meant that Carolina could not create fast break opportunities. UNC did not score one single fast break point until there was 17 minutes to go in the game! Still, the Heels were able to put up decent numbers in a few categories. Carolina shot 49.2% from the field, had only four turnovers, 25 assists on 29 made field goals, and won the rebounding battle 31-27...and Pitt STILL won. When you look at the stat sheet, Carolina had all the ingredients in the stats to win the game but its defense and perimeter offense lacked any fighting spirit to win against a hungry ACC team on the road.
Pittsburgh has now won two straight over the Heels going back to its win against Carolina in last year's ACC Tournament and Pitt's physical style has created major issues for the Heels on both ends of the ball. Carolina must toughen up much more consistently down the stretch and, I believe, all the circumstances surrounding this past week in Chapel Hill can serve as a learning example of how to fight through the heaviest dose of adversity one can endure. The game versus Dook is on the horizon, another extremely difficult road game in front of the Cameron Crazies. Now is the time, a time better than any, for the coaches and the team, from Coach Williams to the walk-ons, to reach deep within themselves and pour out every ounce of their hearts and emotions onto the court. Bring a complete effort, full of energy and passion and a desire to win, to show to the ACC and the nation that...THIS IS...CAROLINA BASKETBALL.
Official Box Score : UNC 76 - Pitt 89
Next Game: #12 North Carolina (18-7, 8-4 ACC)
vs
#4 Dook Blue Devils (22-3, 9-3 ACC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 @ 9:00pm EST
Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC
TV/Radio: ESPN or ESPN3 or ACC Network / Tar Heel Sports Network
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