CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Wanna see the highlight for Pitt in their 66-58 loss to Miami at the Watsco Center on this Sunday evening?
Prepare yourselves. Here it is:
That's Trey McGowens drilling a 15-foot jumper and tying the game at 18 with 9:25 to go in the first half.
Ho-hum, right?
Definitely. But that's also as good as it got for the away team. Pitt never led in this game — coughing up the first 16 points will do that — and they tied the game precisely once. There it is up there. It wasn't enough.
On this day, none of it was enough.
"It’s not worthy of winning, and the basketball gods don’t reward you for that," Jeff Capel was saying of his team's effort and energy.
So let's focus on that: Effort and energy. It's tedious to pore over stats and the obvious narratives. Pitt shot 36 percent from the field, including 19 percent (3 for 16) from three in this one. They committed 11 turnovers. None of that is ideal.
But where effort and energy are concerned, what's the deal there? That's controllable. And that, above all, reigns supreme coming out of this one. Because don't forget:
• Pitt defeats Florida State, 63-61, in the season opener at Petersen Events Center ... then loses to Nicholls State immediately thereafter.
• Pitt cruises into Chapel Hill, N.C., to wipe out North Carolina on the road, 73-65, for the team's first ACC road victory in almost three years ... then loses to Miami on Sunday.
It's not like this possibility — that Pitt would be too caught up in a big win to move on — is new to Capel and company. I literally asked him about it specifically before the game, and he told me it was a priority (to avoid) for the team.
"That's a great question and something that's really important," Capel replied at the time.
The interesting layer here is that Pitt has shown an ability to move on from losses.
"It's important, just as we were able to move on from Wake Forest, that we're able to move on from this [the win over North Carolina]," Capel continued.
So ... What's going on after big wins? If this program is expected to elevate to the next level, it can't get consumed by its own greatness every time it beats a Florida State or a North Carolina then give up 16 free points in the next contest. That just won't work — particularly as conference play continues to heat up throughout this 2019-20 season.
I asked Capel about it after the game here:
"It wasn’t what’s required in order to win, especially on the road," Capel said. "It’s not what’s necessary. One of the things that we talked about in our program is that there [are] certain requirements to become good. And we didn’t do the things necessary to do that tonight, so we weren’t worthy of winning.”
That's not it. Not quite. That's a good answer from Capel in a general sense, but it doesn't quite strike the heart of what we're after here.
"We just have to be ready in warmups, starting in warmups," Terrell Brown was saying after the game. "I saw it, I tried to talk to people, but it's kind of something players have to take into account for their own."
We're getting warmer. I took the idea to McGowens. What does "starting stronger" really mean?
"Umm ... I would say the UNC game. Everybody just kind of came together," he replied.
Still not it. That comeback effort against the Tar Heels is a solid example of what this team can do when it's clicking, no doubt, but it still doesn't quite dig into the grander point here.
I went back to Brown, as directly as I could, in search of that answer. First, did that North Carolina win linger?
"It shouldn't, but it did," he said.
So how do you fix it?
"[We'll] practice tomorrow and be ready for our next game," he finished.
That's it, then. Move along. Do not pass "Go." Do not collect $200. It's as routine as that for these Panthers, a simple move forward with nothing deeper granted in the wake.
This loss is what it is: A young team struggling to shake off the effects of a big win against a better-than-advertised foe.
"I think their record’s a little bit misleading in the league," Capel was saying of Miami. "Their three losses have been twice to Louisville … and then their third loss is to Duke, who obviously is one of, if not the best team in the country."
Sorry to cross sports on you for a moment, but the scene reminded me of one game — a Steelers Week 15 loss to the Bills at Heinz Field — in the aftermath. That loss marked the first of three consecutive defeats that doomed the Steelers season, and while nobody knew it at the time, there was an air about that particular stumble. When asked to define the loss, the players and coaches really ... couldn't. At least, not in a way that'd satisfy a hungry audience.
"They were able to execute when it really mattered," T.J. Watt was saying of the Bills back in mid-December following the Steelers' loss at home. "Credit to them. They're a really hard-nosed, gritty football team that was able to run the ball."
“This one’s gone. We lived it,” Mike Tomlin added in his postgame press conference. “There’s scarcity in this business … There are no seven-game series and things of that nature. So we respect what transpired tonight. We understand it. And there’s nothing we can do about it as we sit here but get focused on our next opportunity. We will do that. I promise you that.”
See how Watt's and Tomlin's answers here are similar to Capel's or McGowens' or Brown's? Every now and then in sports, you don't need to go searching for some divine point or some deeper meaning. The other team will execute better some nights. Other times you'll come out flat.
Tonight, these Pitt Panthers came out flat. While the trend is undeniable and the team needs to fix it — a point well-taken by Capel and his players alike — there's no need to dig too far into this one.
"Disappointing loss for us," Capel said. "I thought we had an amazing opportunity coming off of a big win to go on the road and have an opportunity to get another one. And we didn’t have the maturity level necessary as a group, all of us. Every one of us — coaching [staff], everyone — needs to move on to the next play. And until we learn that in our program, then we won’t become the consistently good program that we’re striving to become."
There's your answer.
• Want a more direct explanation for all that up there?
Pitt was tired. Like, literally, physically tired. That's it.
"Honestly, I thought we were exhausted," Capel said of his team's repeated efforts to battle back from double-digit deficits in this one before finally faltering. "That’s what I thought it was. That group that we had in, I thought they fought so hard and played so hard for extended minutes, and I thought we got a little bit tired."
Capel's a straight-shooter by every read I've received from the man, so I'm not going to question it. But just ... tired? Really? I had to toss it over to McGowens to confirm.
"We worked all summer," McGowens said. "Not for that to happen, but just to be in shape so I guess ..."
He shrugged his shoulders and ended the thought there.
There's something to it, no doubt. Pitt's coming off that road win, they traveled back to Pittsburgh in the interim, then back down to Miami for this game. They fell behind 16-0 early then trailed by 20 in the second half. Yet, they kept it close, clawing back to stay within four with 3:16 to go in the game, but it was a mirage from the jump.
Miami made the necessary shots and plays, and Pitt stayed behind. The basketball gods wouldn't allow better, as Capel put it.
"It’s unfortunate that we have to learn these lessons with poor performances and with losses, but we have to learn the lessons," he said. "Hopefully this is another example of that. We have to move on quickly."
• Only four points and four turnovers in 24 minutes for Xavier Johnson? And he got benched during that crucial second-half push?
There’s a reason for that. I’ll have more on this soon. It requires a closer look, but in short: Capel wasn’t pleased with Johnson’s performance. At all.
• Pitt snapped a 22-game road losing streak in their last one against North Carolina down in Chapel Hill, N.C., so maybe asking them to do it again just a couple of days later was too much, eh? Keep the context with this squad. They're growing and learning. They're young.
And this is a tough, competitive conference.
"This is the ACC," Brown was saying. "You can't just fight back and think everything will be OK, because now the other team has momentum."
• Both Dejan Vasiljevic and Sam Waardenburg played the full 40 minutes for Miami. As a team, the Hurricanes have just eight healthy scholarship athletes. Subtract Chris Lykes — who fouled out — for the final eight minutes of this one, and Miami's rotation was thin, to put it mildly.
"They played 40 minutes, it's what they do," Capel said. "Lykes didn't, because he was in foul trouble all day, but Waardenburg, [Kameron McGutsy] and DJ [Vasiljevic], I think they're averaging over the last however many games close to 40 minutes a game. So I think they're adjusted to it."
• Au'Diese Toney tallied nine points, five rebounds (three offensive) and an assist in 23 minutes in his return to the lineup after missing two games with an elbow injury. He did, however, miss two free throws (after going 7 for 7 in his last game played and shooting 77 percent from the stripe on the year). I observed Toney shaking out his elbow in pregame warmups, however, Capel described him as a "full go" in this one.
• Miami shot 52.7 percent from the field in this one, the first time Pitt allowed an opponent to shoot above 50 percent on the year. McGusty and Lykes combined to go 13 for 19 (68 percent), helping that cause immensely.
• Gotta credit Miami in this one, too. It's no small task to shoot above 50 percent against this Pitt team, and that becomes even more impressive when you consider their best player, Lykes, only logged 19:24 in the game due to foul trouble. McGutsy led the way with 19 points in 37 minutes, but Vasiljevic and Waardenburg were right behind, combining for 20 points and some clutch baskets down the stretch.
• That's McGowens' 13th game scoring in double figures, but I still left more impressed with his assists — seven in this one, after registering eight against North Carolina.
"I just trust my teammates, trust that they'll make the play," McGowens was telling me on that front.
• Justin Champagnie set a season high with 11 rebounds, although his 3 for 16 shooting effort might overshadow that.
• Terrell Brown posted 10 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes of play, a solid effort after having his energy and effort questioned against North Carolina. Thing is, Capel doesn't really evaluate individual players after games — particularly after losses. It all comes back to the team effort with him.
"Terrell did some nice things for us," Capel began.
Then came the kicker.
"But again, you two know me. This is about us. And we didn't do what was required. So it's never about 'One guy didn't do good' or 'Did do well' or whatever. We didn't do what's necessary to win.
• Watch Capel's full post-game presser right here:
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE STARTING LINEUPS
For Capel's Panthers:
Xavier Johnson, guard
Trey McGowens, guard
Ryan Murphy, guard
Justin Champagnie, forward
Eric Hamilton, forward
And for Jim Larrañaga's Hurricanes:
Chris Lykes, guard
Dejan Vasiljevic, guard
Kameron McGusty, guard
Sam Waardenburg, forward
Rodney Miller, center
THE SCHEDULE
It doesn't get easier for Pitt. They return home Tuesday, Jan. 14, to face No. 13 Louisville at Petersen Events Center. Tipoff for that one's 7 p.m., and I'll be on the scene for all the coverage.
THE COVERAGE
Visit our team page for everything.
