University of North Carolina Athletics
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Know Your Opponent: Pitt
January 8, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Bobby Hundley
Pittsburgh (PittsburghPanthers.com)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Rankings: No. 81 KenPom, NR AP
NET/SOS: No. 79 NET, No. 89 SOS
Record: 10-4, 1-2 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 14-3 (UNC 85, Pitt 60, Jan. 5, 2019, Petersen Events Center)
When last these teams met, Pitt was in the midst of a 22-game ACC losing streak and desperately trying to pull itself out of a hole that saw the program fall from a tournament team in 2016 under Jamie Dixon to one of the worst teams in ACC history in 2018 under Kevin Stallings. And while Carolina's 25-point win extended the conference losing streak, Jeff Capel's team finally broke the hex four days later with an overtime win over Louisville.
Though the final 2019 record of 14-19 meant the Panthers finished at the bottom of the ACC for a second year in a row, Capel's team provided some much-needed hope to Pitt men's basketball supporters. And with a competitive start to 2020, Capel was rewarded Wednesday with a contract extension meant to keep him in Oakland through 2027. The Panthers have already banked Quadrant 1 wins over Florida State and Rutgers and have suffered just one objectively bad loss - a home setback to NET No. 162 Nicholls State in November.
Pitt is reaping the benefits of last year's extremely young starting lineup, especially in the backcourt. Despite being sophomores, guards Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens have the confidence and reputation of ACC veterans. Johnson has started every game of his career and McGowens has missed just two, and both players are among the league leaders in usage. Johnson is a two-way point guard who has emerged as the team's leading outside shooter while also continuing to be one of the league's top creators.
The sophomores are joined in a three-guard lineup by Charlotte transfer Ryan Murphy, a 6-2 native of Southern California who has made half of his 3s in conference play and shot 40 percent from deep two seasons ago as a 49er. Freshman wing Justin Champagnie is the only other Panther who has attempted a significant number of 3s, but he's making just 22 percent from behind the arc. Champagnie played 39 minutes in Saturday's home loss to Wake due in part to the absence of Au'Diese Toney, who is questionable for Wednesday night's game with an elbow injury.
Up front, UNCG grad transfer Eric Hamilton is the team's most effective rebounder, while 6-10 junior Terrell Brown is the only regular who has been in the program since before Capel took over. Brown is an elite shot-blocker and solid offensive rebounder who is still improving as a scoring threat.
Capel reiterated Monday that his team - which is the slowest non-Virginia team in the ACC - can't win pretty and that it needs to out-work its opponents to be successful. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Craig Meyer wrote this week, that would match the characteristics of the elite Pitt teams of the Big East era and could be the path back to relevance for a program finally starting to find some sustained success.
Pittsburgh (PittsburghPanthers.com)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Rankings: No. 81 KenPom, NR AP
NET/SOS: No. 79 NET, No. 89 SOS
Record: 10-4, 1-2 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 14-3 (UNC 85, Pitt 60, Jan. 5, 2019, Petersen Events Center)
When last these teams met, Pitt was in the midst of a 22-game ACC losing streak and desperately trying to pull itself out of a hole that saw the program fall from a tournament team in 2016 under Jamie Dixon to one of the worst teams in ACC history in 2018 under Kevin Stallings. And while Carolina's 25-point win extended the conference losing streak, Jeff Capel's team finally broke the hex four days later with an overtime win over Louisville.
Though the final 2019 record of 14-19 meant the Panthers finished at the bottom of the ACC for a second year in a row, Capel's team provided some much-needed hope to Pitt men's basketball supporters. And with a competitive start to 2020, Capel was rewarded Wednesday with a contract extension meant to keep him in Oakland through 2027. The Panthers have already banked Quadrant 1 wins over Florida State and Rutgers and have suffered just one objectively bad loss - a home setback to NET No. 162 Nicholls State in November.
Pitt is reaping the benefits of last year's extremely young starting lineup, especially in the backcourt. Despite being sophomores, guards Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens have the confidence and reputation of ACC veterans. Johnson has started every game of his career and McGowens has missed just two, and both players are among the league leaders in usage. Johnson is a two-way point guard who has emerged as the team's leading outside shooter while also continuing to be one of the league's top creators.
The sophomores are joined in a three-guard lineup by Charlotte transfer Ryan Murphy, a 6-2 native of Southern California who has made half of his 3s in conference play and shot 40 percent from deep two seasons ago as a 49er. Freshman wing Justin Champagnie is the only other Panther who has attempted a significant number of 3s, but he's making just 22 percent from behind the arc. Champagnie played 39 minutes in Saturday's home loss to Wake due in part to the absence of Au'Diese Toney, who is questionable for Wednesday night's game with an elbow injury.
Up front, UNCG grad transfer Eric Hamilton is the team's most effective rebounder, while 6-10 junior Terrell Brown is the only regular who has been in the program since before Capel took over. Brown is an elite shot-blocker and solid offensive rebounder who is still improving as a scoring threat.
Capel reiterated Monday that his team - which is the slowest non-Virginia team in the ACC - can't win pretty and that it needs to out-work its opponents to be successful. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Craig Meyer wrote this week, that would match the characteristics of the elite Pitt teams of the Big East era and could be the path back to relevance for a program finally starting to find some sustained success.
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