DURHAM, N.C. -- It was defined as a weakness on Saturday against Clemson, and it was magnified to a glaring hole against a stronger Duke on Wednesday.
What is lacking in Pitt's ascent toward the top of the ACC was made evident and clear in the Panthers' 77-69 loss to the 24th-ranked Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the Panthers were out-muscled and physically dominated inside the paint by bigger and better forwards for the second straight game against an ACC foe.
"They were outstanding tonight. I thought they played really, really hard, and, obviously, they dominated the glass," Jeff Capel said. "That really was the difference in the game. It's very rare that you see when a team that shoots 36 percent, and 22 percent from the 3, that they win. They did that because of how they dominated the second half."
The result nets the Panthers their first streak of at least two losses since the three sustained against West Virginia, Michigan, and VCU at the beginning of the season.
Duke pounded Pitt underneath for a 51-28 margin in rebounding and a 34-20 difference in points in the paint on Wednesday. Over its last two games, Pitt has been outrebounded 87-63 and outscored in the paint 68-34. It is becoming more and more clear that John Hugley IV's defensive presence inside is sorely missed, as the Blue Devils (13-4, 4-2 ACC) and coach Jon Scheyer turned to their bigs for second-half dominance.
In all, the Blue Devils out-paced and wore the Panthers to a 45-26 margin in the second half, after Pitt played a solid and synergized first half and led 43-32 at the break.
Kyle Filipowski and Ryan Young took advantage of the Panthers' interior weak point by posting 28 and seven points, respectively, while combining to make 10 of 16 attempts from inside the 3-point arc. Filipowski made 11 of his 13 free throws as Duke made 23 of 27 (83.2%) from that spot. Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor were each a perfect 6-for-6 and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line, respectively, and Pitt battled through foul trouble for the second straight game with three players committing four fouls each and Guillermo Diaz Graham fouling out with 6:10 remaining.
“Flip was great tonight," Scheyer said. "He hasn’t played as well, and he’s been a difference maker for us when he’s at his peak. It’s a game changer. He puts a lot of pressure on the defense, obviously, the way he can attack the basket. It’s good for him to see a three go down tonight, because we still feel like those are great shots for us and we want him shooting those. Just his determination on the boards – to have 15 rebounds against them; they’ve been right there, statistically, rebounding, with other teams. For Flip to do that against a veteran team like them is a big deal."
But the biggest difference for an undersized Pitt was how FIlipowski and Young were able to clean up on the glass, particularly in the second half. Their combined 25 rebounds -- 15 to Filipowski -- nearly eclipsed Pitt's 28 as a team throughout the 40 minutes. Filipowski had 11 rebounds in the second half to Pitt's 13 as a team. Duke outscored Pitt in the paint 24-4 and outrebounded Pitt 29-13 in the second half.
"They abused us on the glass," Greg Elliott said. "I just know that them two guys made a huge difference on the rebounding aspect of the game. They came in with that mindset that they wanted to go get every rebound. That's what it looked like, and that's what they did."
"Obviously Filipowski's an outstanding player, and he had a monster night tonight," Capel said. "We couldn't keep them off the glass. That was an area that we were concerned about coming into tonight's game. We understood they've been the best offensive rebounding team in this league, in conference play, and really one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. We didn't do a good job."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Hugley missed his sixth consecutive game and has not suited up since Dec. 10 against Sacred Heart. While he has dealt with matters kept private to himself and within the program, Wednesday's absence was attributed to what was described by the program as a "non-COVID illness."
Hugley did not travel to Durham.
Pitt's leading scorer and rebounder from last season has averaged 8.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in the eight games he has played in. He missed parts of the beginning of the season, including games against West Virginia and VCU, while he was nursing a sprained knee.
Capel on Monday said the focus was "making sure he's OK, making sure he's good physically and mentally" while reiterating his absence is not injury related. When asked directly about whether Hugley will be back this season, Capel responded: "I don't know."
Despite this, Hugley had been on Pitt's bench during this recent stretch of home games and traveled with the team to Syracuse, before missing Wednesday's game with his illness.
"He's very committed despite the things that he's battling and going through," Jamarius Burton said. "For me as his teammate, as his brother, I'll just continue to support him and encourage him to continue to run his own race. Obviously we miss him, he's a big piece to what we can do, but we still have to encourage him as he continues to take his time to rehab and do what he has to do."
• It was a homecoming affair for Burton, who grew up about 150 miles away from Durham in Charlotte. He led Pitt in scoring with 16 points and collected five rebounds in front of family members in attendance.
"It meant a lot to have that support, especially in a hostile environment," Burton said. "Just meant a lot."
• Nate Santos was an underscored plus-15 in playing 12 bench minutes on Saturday against Clemson. On Wednesday, he played nine minutes, but just one in the second half. He finished with three points, a rebound, an an assist.
I asked Capel post-game about leaving Santos off the floor for 19 of the final 20 minutes on Wednesday:
"I thought he did a terrific job," Capel said. "Made strong drives in the first half and finished. He made a drive with a great pass to Guillermo. I just thought he did a really good job all night long for us. You know, in the second half we went with guys that have played well for us all year, and unfortunately we just didn't do a great job in the second half."
So, not a lot of explanation there. I tried.
• Duke was without captain and guard Jeremy Roach, who is nursing a toe injury and wore a walking boot on his right foot. Roach has averaged 11.9 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 14 games for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils registered just 13 assists as a team, which bares as moot considering the amount of inside production they received. Proctor led with a season-high five assists and did not turn the ball over. Filipowski and Jacob Grandison each had two assists.
“He’s done a great job of just running the team," Scheyer said of Proctor. He’s really easy to play with. He obviously made some big scoring plays down the stretch, but when your guard has five assists and no turnovers that’s pretty good. He just makes it easy for other guys. I think that’s the biggest thing that he does. He had a calming influence, and his plus-minus (plus-16) was really good. He’s in control of the team, I think that’s the biggest thing that he did, and he really competed and guarded on the defensive end.”
• If you have never been to Cameron Indoor Stadium before, I highly, HIGHLY recommend making the drive. That place is a museum of some of the most iconic players and moments in college basketball history, which can be appreciated whether you are a Pitt fan or a fan of any other school in college hoops:
Corey Crisan /DKPS
Corey Crisan /DKPS
Artifacts displayed inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Cameron Indoor is an incredibly intimate setting, and I would only compare the in-game experience to a really organized rave. Plenty of video packages played to highlight Duke's history, light shows welcomed the teams onto the floor before tip-off, and the in-between timeout events were... eventful:
And... Yeah. Here was my point of view for the game. If you watched on TV, you would have seen me sitting across from Pitt's bench, near the baseline:
Corey Crisan / DKPS
DKPS' Corey Crisan's point of view during Wednesday's game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
From a logistics -- read: working conditions -- standpoint, it makes things both incredibly awesome to see and experience so close, but with 9,000-plus screaming fans literally on top of you, it makes things slightly more difficult in terms of simply thinking and staying into your own thoughts. One can tell why it is so beloved across college basketball. I considered visiting this place a bucket-list item, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. Looking forward to next year's trip already, God willing.
• Speaking of that, shortly before the game tipped off, one of the "Cameron Crazies" standing behind me tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around to field a question from a girl: "Hey, I saw you have a phone charger. Can I use it for a bit? Mine's completely dead."
Because I am a gentleman, a scholar, and a good Samaritan (as a Syracuse alum covering Pitt at Duke, no less! Three clashing factors!) I took the phone and charged it at my station for the first half of the game. So, to that kind "Crazies" member, if you are reading this -- I know that you are, because I name-dropped this site out loud a handful of times throughout the night -- thanks for trusting me with something so important to you, especially in such a close-quarters environment.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE 5s
• Pitt: G Nelly Cummings, G Greg Elliott, F Jamarius Burton, F Blake Hinson, C Federiko Federiko.
• Duke: G Tyrese Proctor, F Mark Mitchell, F Kyle Filipowski, F Dariq Whitehead, C Ryan Young.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scores
• Schedule
• Standings
• Statistics
THE INJURIES
• Did not travel: F John Hugley IV (non-COVID illness).
• Out for the season: F Will Jeffress (foot).
THE SCHEDULE
• Pitt (11-6, 4-2 ACC) has two more road games before its next home stay at the Petersen Events Center. Up next is Georgia Tech (8-8, 1-5) at 3 p.m. Saturday in Atlanta, followed by a trip to Louisville at 7 p.m. on Jan. 18. Pitt's next home game is Jan. 21 against Florida State. Georgia Tech lost 73-72 at Notre Dame on Tuesday.
THE CONTENT
• Visit the Pitt team page for more coverage from Cameron Indoor Stadium. You can listen to the latest episode of the H2P Podcast below.
