Lucas: Pittsburgh Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. A bad second half doomed Carolina on the road, as Pitt beat the Tar Heels, 76-74. The Tar Heels have now lost four of the last five against Pitt.

2. Pretty simple second half equation: Carolina couldn't stop Jamarius Burton, and the Tar Heels struggled from the field. Carolina shot just 9-27 from the field in the final 20 minutes and 1-for-9 from the three-point line (that one was a desperation banked-in three by Caleb Love). Meanwhile, Burton scored a career-high 31 points and did it against a variety of Carolina defenders, including Caleb Love, D'Marco Dunn and even Leaky Black.

3. Some of the second half offensive struggles were due to Pitt shutting off what had been an important offensive source: second chance points. Carolina scored 11 that way in the first half, but didn't tally on the offensive glass until under three minutes to play when Leaky Black hit a couple of free throws. The Tar Heels got just two offensive rebounds in the second half off of 18 missed shots (after getting six offensive boards on 15 misses in the first half).

4. The Tar Heels had to use some unusual rotations with Pete Nance limited by what appeared to be a nagging back injury. Nance, a streaky shooter, started the game hot and looked bound for a big day, but spent big stretches on the bench in the second half as he moved gingerly. His absence was compounded by an unusually off day from Love, who hit just 3-for-9 from the field, took only three second half shots, and had a big turnover stepping out of bounds late in a three-point game. That left Carolina's offense reduced to mostly just Armando Bacot (who was again great, with 22 points and 13 rebounds) and 16 points from RJ Davis.

5. Carolina didn't take enough advantage of what looked like a potential game-changing play with 7:20 left in the second half. At that point, the Panthers sank a three-pointer to cut Carolina's lead to 57-56, but Nike Sibandie was whistled for a technical foul for taunting. That gave the Heels a chance to push the lead back out to two possessions, but Davis made just one of two free throws and Dunn missed a good look at a three-pointer. Pitt tied the game on the next trip down court.

6. Especially with Nance's limited availability, it was good to see Dunn back in uniform on Friday. Dunn had been out since the Virginia Tech game after breaking his hand in practice. He had played 32 combined minutes in the two games prior to the injury and was starting to play some of his best basketball in Chapel Hill. He was the first reserve off the bench for Hubert Davis on Friday, and gave the Tar Heels some solid defense while also knocking in a three-pointer.

7. Under Jeff Capel, Pitt has consistently tried to make games against Carolina into a physical battle. The Tar Heels responded early on Friday, not shying away from contact even through some perplexing whistles and non-whistles. The Tar Heels dominated the glass, holding a 22-12 edge in the first half (6-3 on the offensive end). The Panthers rebounded much better in the second half and seemed to have better luck getting to the loose balls they didn't get in the first half. The final rebounding tally was 38-33 for Carolina, but just 8-7 on the offensive boards.

8. A bad stretch midway through the first half kept Pittsburgh close at a time when it felt like Carolina had a chance to build a comfortable lead. After taking good care of the basketball early in the game, the Tar Heels went through a string of turning it over six times in eight trips down the court. The Panthers didn't fully capitalize, turning the miscues into six points, but it was enough to keep them close.

9. Strong Carolina contingent at the Petersen Events Center. With students out of town and an unusual tip time, there was a significant amount of Carolina blue (on a day when the teams for some reason both wore blue uniforms, the third straight color-on-color game for the Tar Heels) in the venue.

10. Pitt has been very turnover prone this season, and Carolina didn't do a good enough job of forcing mistakes in the game. The Panthers had just eight turnovers, and Carolina scored just six points off those errors.

11. The game was the extremely rare Friday at noon ACC basketball start. The reasoning largely has to do with the fact that the games are primarily television inventory, and Friday afternoon was an open slot in the middle of all the bowl and NFL games over the weekend. Conferences, schools, and television partners are continuing to look for spots that aren't otherwise occupied--the Big East put a league game on Christmas Day this year and it drew good ratings; expect to see more of these types of dates/times (remember, the Tar Heels play at home at 11:30 a.m. next weekend) in future years. This year's slate didn't exactly work out perfectly, as of the six ACC teams playing league games on Friday, four of them are also playing in bowl games today. It wouldn't be surprising to see more flexible scheduling around the bowls to try to avoid that kind of crossover in the future.

12. A reminder that tomorrow is the annual holiday clinic at the Smith Center. The event is a great way for kids to play on the floor of the Smith Center and learn from Tar Heel players. Registration information is available here.

13. Pennsylvania royalty on hand for the game, as Dante Calabria was in the building. Calabria's hometown of Beaver Falls is just 45 minutes from Pittsburgh.

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

RJ Davis

D'Marco Dunn

Caleb Love

Pete Nance

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