ATLANTA -- The mission was accomplished, but the systems and means by which it came by are still far from polished.
Pitt had to overcome a slower-than-sluggish first half in its 71-60 victory on Saturday at Georgia Tech, and much of what we saw in Wednesday's loss at No. 24 Duke reared their heads early on.
Especially one constant that could not be ignored, and which ultimately was not costly to the Panthers against the Yellow Jackets.
The lack of ball movement has lately been staggering. Pitt's offense just has not had the flow or energy that we saw in the wins over North Carolina and Virginia, and even from the first half of the game a week prior against Clemson.
This should not be an issue going forward. At least it was cleaned up moderately in the second half, as the Panthers blazed to a 10-point margin with a Nelly Cummings 3-pointer with 16:31 to play and did not look back at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
And, the early inconsistencies were remedied by a season-high 21 points from Nike Sibande, who provided the exact jolt the Panthers yearned for over a 40-minute stretch with Greg Elliott struggling with his shot.
So much so, that Jeff Capel wanted him to start the second half.
Sibande did not. Elliott did.
That was purely Sibande's call.
"I just want to win at the end of the day," Sibande said. "It's not about starting, not about none of that. It's about winning, so at the end of the day that's what it's all about. I've been in my role, I'm just accepting my role, and I'm trying to do the best I can in my role."
Elliott had been struggling from the field entering Saturday making just 8 of his last 29 3-pointers and 12 of 38 overall from the field, and the Panthers' starting shooting guard posted just four points on a 1-for-7 effort from the field on Saturday.
"For this team it's being the sixth man," Sibande said of his role. "Coming off that bench, being a good player, and just playing the right way."
In all, Pitt secured an 11-point victory, but ball movement was rarely present, the 3-point game we have been used to seeing flourish was lacking (6-for-20 overall), and Pitt gave away way too many second chances to the Yellow Jackets.
Pitt could have won by a far wider margin with a cleaner first half. Georgia Tech could not muster enough offense in the second half -- credit where it's due to Pitt's defense -- while the Panthers surged for 33 points in the final 20 minutes.
The post-game discussion on Wednesday was about playing more aggressive inside, about winning contested 50/50 balls, and about establishing snappier decision making on the defensive end.
On Saturday in Atlanta ...
"Heck of a win for us," Capel said. "The end of an energy cycle this week to play such a tough game at Duke on Wednesday. Physical, very physical game, and to come down here and get off the mat and to be really tough and to do some really, really good things. We don't take winning for granted, especially on the road. It's very hard to win, period. It's very hard to win on the road. We were playing a team that I think's a good team. I think they're better than their record."
That physicality all cannot come together in one game -- it certainly did not by Saturday -- but the Panthers at least did not allow the loss to Duke to compound into what would have been a gut punch to Pitt's NCAA Tournament hopes.
Wins in the ACC are always big, especially on the road, but for the Panthers to respond with a win will never hurt in a big-picture sense. The Panthers are firmly "on the bubble" as the second half of the season begins, and it should remain so until at least the beginning of next week.
But, if Pitt wants to get off of that bubble and into the prime slots of contention, Capel will have to figure out a solution to the woes inside the paint and within the recent flow on offense.
The first steps of that came in moderation as Saturday's game progressed.
"You can learn from anything any game," Sibande said. "We've got some things we're going to work on and finish. Work on our finishing. ... We're definitely going to pull some things out of film and look at them and work on them."
By the second half, Pitt found flow within the plug-and-play efforts from Sibande, a 19-point overall effort from Jamarius Burton, and 11 second-half points from Cummings.
"Nike Sibande was great, and most importantly, he was a great teammate, and I think that's why he played very well," Capel said. "... Really proud of my group. To have three road wins in this league is a pretty big-time thing."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Pitt did not look its best in the first half by any stretch. The start of the game was akin to much of what we saw in the second half in Durham on Wednesday -- lazy offense, getting crashed on the boards, and losing defensive assignments in transition.
I was especially curious about the effort the Panthers would come out with in the opening 20, and I was not digging the vibe.
Federiko Federiko did not attempt a field goal until there were 1:37 left in the opening half. Blake Hinson played in just 12 minutes in the first half despite committing just one foul. Cummings entered foul jail at the 15:34 mark of the half and sat on the bench for 6:35 until the 8:59 mark.
The Panthers got a tremendous effort from Sibande early, though, as he opened the game by making 5 of 8 overall from the field and 3 of 4 from 3.
A massive positive to draw from the opening half overall: The Panthers committed just one turnover in taking a 38-34 lead at the break.
• While his night offensively did not stand out much, Federiko was excellent in just about every other phase. He finished with seven rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and was a team-high plus-14 in his 35 minutes on the floor.
"I try to help my teammates defensively, be there, make it easy for them," Federiko said. "It means a lot to me. ... I was just doing my part, doing my part."
Capel mentioned that getting Federiko more looks was a talking point at halftime.
"We can do a better job. ... If they're switching to get him down in the post, and especially against a smaller guy," Capel said. "The other thing that we can do is, if he has a smaller guy, we should be able to rebound."
• Pitt outscored Georgia Tech (8-9, 1-6 ACC) by seven in the second half without recording an assist as a team. The Panthers finished with five assists, all coming in the first half. Perhaps most impressive of all: Pitt committed just three turnovers, with the third one coming from Burton with 7:54 to play. Pitt scored eight points off of turnovers and held Georgia Tech scoreless off of is three miscues.
• Pitt was, again, out-rebounded, albeit this time by a 40-35 total margin. The Yellow Jackets also took advantage of 14 offensive boards by posting 19 second-chance points. That included 12 second-chance points off of eight offensive boards in the first half.
"I feel like that's an emphasis that we all preached on," Sibande said of rebounding. "Guards and bigs. I feel like that was an emphasis on tonight's game, and we're going to continue to emphasize that in the future."
• A couple of hours before tip-off here in Atlanta, it was announced that John Hugley IV will miss the remainder of the season in order to focus on his mental health and continue to rehab from his preseason knee injury. Hugley has played in just eight of Pitt's 18 games this season, and has not suited up since Dec. 10 against Sacred Heart. He was Pitt's leading scorer and rebounder last season at 14.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Hugley, a junior, is eligible for a redshirt with his eight games played. The threshold for redshirting is 30% of a team's total games played, and Pitt has 31 regular season games on its schedule plus an ACC Tournament game to bring the total to 32. By season's end, he would have played in just 25% of Pitt's games.
When asked, Capel did not offer additional comment about Hugley after the game.
A statement released by Capel prior to the game read: “We are here to support John as he continues to learn to manage challenges in his personal life. John has worked hard to get to this point and should be applauded for seeking out the help to continue to grow as a young man. This next step will allow him the time and space to focus on his personal growth. We are here to provide love and support for him on this journey that will undoubtedly help him throughout his life.”
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE 5s
• Pitt: G Nelly Cummings, G Greg Elliott, F Jamarius Burton, F Blake Hinson, C Federiko Federiko.
• Georgia Tech: G Terry Lance, G Deebo Coleman, G Miles Kelly, F Jalon Moore, C Rodney Howard.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scores
• Schedule
• Standings
• Statistics
THE INJURIES
• Out for the season: F Will Jeffress (foot), F John Hugley IV (personal).
THE SCHEDULE
• Pitt (12-6, 5-2) is at Louisville (2-16, 0-7) for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday against the Cardinals. The Panthers then return to the Petersen Events Center for a three-game homestand beginning Jan. 21 against Florida State. Louisville lost to North Carolina at home on Saturday, 80-59. I will be in Louisville for coverage.
THE CONTENT
• Visit the Pitt team page for more coverage from McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. Gary Morgan and I are recording a new episode of the H2P Podcast on Sunday, so check for that on all platforms on Monday.
