Notre Dame put on a three-point shooting clinic against Pitt, beating the Panthers 78-54 at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center Saturday, concluding the regular season for both teams.
The loss dropped Pitt to 11-20, 6-14 in the ACC, to finish 12th in the conference while Notre Dame locked up the two-seed for the ACC Tournament, which begins Tuesday. The loss slots Pitt to face the 13-seed Boston College as the first game of the ACC Tournament Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The teams split the season series with Pitt winning at the Petersen Events Center on Jan. 8 and Boston College winning at the Conte Forum on Jan. 30 after a blizzard delayed the game by a day and Jeff Capel found out hours before tipoff he tested positive for COVID and had to be quarantined from the team.
But on Saturday, Capel watched his team get dismantled by Notre Dame for the Panthers' third-consecutive loss by 20 or more points. The loss was a combination of most of Pitt's biggest weaknesses this season being brought to the forefront by the Fighting Irish's well-oiled offense and defense. Notre Dame outshot Pitt to 56 percent to 36 percent from the field, and 58 percent to 12 percent on three-pointers. Notre Dame came into Saturday averaging 9.2 three-point shots made per game before making 14 against the Panthers. That's 53.8 percent of the Fighting Irish's scoring.
Before the game even started, Capel made an adjustment to the starting lineup by switching in Onyebuchi Ezeakudo for Femi Odukale. Odukale had scored only five or less points in four of Pitt's last six games, but Capel indicated that decision had nothing to do with his lack of scoring. It was because Odukale was late for a team meeting earlier in the week.
"There's not a message there," Capel said about benching Odukale. "It's just the standard. If you're late, you don't start. If you're not a starter, there are other things we do. There are standards in our programs that everyone has to meet and if they don't, there are consequences."
Odukale came into the game later in the first half and finished playing 26 minutes during the game, scoring six points with five points and three assists. In addition to him not starting, Pitt was missing three of its starters for significant stretches of the first half. Each of Mouhammadou Gueye, John Hugley IV and Jamarius Burton racked up two fouls and had to spend time on the bench. Burton only played 14 minutes in the first half, while Gueye played 11 minutes and Hugley only played three minutes.
"We have to move without the ball," Gueye said. "Get some action going, and when we get looks, shoot it with confidence. We've got to be more aggressive and that's when we struggle. We know when we're not being aggressive it leaks out as struggles on both offense and defense."
Meanwhile, Notre Dame worked offensive sets that set up open three-pointers and eventually expose Pitt's defense in the paint.
"Obviously, we didn't do it," Capel said. "The way they move the basketball with all the slipping, cutting and ball screens, I didn't think it was a smart decision to put guys back in who were in foul trouble early. The game was within striking distance with the deficit staying around ten going into the half. The problem was that we didn't shoot the ball well. We were 1 of 13 on first half three-pointers with wide open looks and 29 percent from the floor. We probably missed at least three shots that were right at the basket. As a coach, I saw that we were still in striking distance and it was best to save them for the second half."
Pitt was able to get its deficit down to 31-21 at halftime, but Notre Dame still controlled the majority of the game. For more than 23 minutes of the game, the Fighting Irish maintained a double-digit lead. That's the third consecutive contest that Pitt has trailed by ten or more points for more than half of the game. In the fourth year of Capel being head coach, Pitt currently sits with a winning percentage of .367, the lowest of any of his seasons and the first time he's been lower than .424.
Granted, this is also the first year after a major exodus of five players to the Transfer Portal and seeing Justin Champagnie got to the NBA, leaving the roster barren. But it's still a tough year for the Panthers. It's the second-worst Pitt record since the 1994-1995 season, outside of Kevin Stallings' 2017-2018 season when Pitt went 8-24. But Capel isn't focused on that right now. He'll look at big picture questions after the season concludes.
"Right now it's hard to think about that because we still have a season here," Capel said when asked to assess his four years with the team. "I've not thought about that. I've been concentrating how to play against Notre Dame and who we're about to play in the tournament. When our season's over, I'll assess that. But when you're in it, you're not looking behind and you're not looking ahead."
Before the ACC Tournament, Pitt has to at least get back to the identity Capel preached all season, and ultimately led to its few wins. That identity has been based on tough, gritty defense, regardless of offensive output. That defense has disappeared, as Pitt's given up an average of 79.7 points over the past three games, a huge jump from the season's average of 67.8 points per game allowed. Pitt won a single game in the 2019 and 2020 ACC Tournaments, but failed to win any games in last year's tournament. If it wants to avoid repeating a one-and-done bid for the tournament, it has to get back to playing that kind of defense.
"Well, we have to," Capel said when asked how Pitt gets its defense back. "If we don't, our season will be over Tuesday. I shouldn't have to trick anyone into thinking that. We have to understand it and go out and execute it."
"We have to come together," Gueye said. "Coach has showed us this year when we do what's right, we can win. We've had great games but we've also had bad ones. You can see it in what he's taught us. We have to embrace that and take it into the tournament Tuesday."
For most of Pitt's players, this season ending most likely just means getting ready to reload for next year. But the only player whose eligibility is completely out is Gueye, the graduate transfer from Stony Brook on his first season playing for the Panthers. The reality that Tuesday could be his last college basketball game is one he'll try to push out of his mind during the tournament, but he knows that won't be an easy task.
"I play every game like it could be my last game," Gueye said. "But the reality is that this could actually be my last college basketball game. It does hold a little bit more weight for me. But when it comes game time, I can't focus on that. I have to focus on how we take the necessary steps to win as a team."
