TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- NCAA Tournament teams -- at least the ones which often go on runs -- are multidimensional.
It typically does not come down to just one player. The collective which has each other's backs finds ways to rise above its toughest challenges.
The great ones find ways to do it time after time.
Nelly Cummings was not 100% on Saturday, as Jeff Capel revealed after the game, and Capel had to adjust to having an ailing point guard that was at times getting exploited by Florida State on Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
Enter Nike Sibande, whose jolt off the bench provided an instant spark the Panthers desperately needed at times and led a charge to an 83-75 win over the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
Normally this is where a quote from Sibande would come into the story, but I found what Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said about him after the game to be a striking compliment to Pitt's sixth man:
"We all knew he was a good shooter," Hamilton said. "He's an extremely confident guy. He has that aura about him that he can keep in his own. He's a very confident young man, so it wasn't like we didn't know if you don't contest his shots, the more likely they'll go in. That was very established that we knew we had to push up on him, and we allowed him to shoot those shots. We gave him an opportunity, and then we did push up on him. We knew that they would go right, and he drove right without any gap protection. Those are the little things that cost you when you play a team like Pittsburgh."
Even though Hamilton and the Seminoles (8-17, 6-8 ACC) had Sibande thoroughly scouted, knew his exact tendencies, and had a plan to throw a body on him, Sibande was able to take over a good chunk of the second half and be the exact catalyst for an eight-point victory -- which would have gone down as a 10-point win if not for a last-second gimme dunk -- in a game which teetered in the balance for about 33 minutes. Saturday's win served not just as another example of how tough, composed, poised, and gritty this Pitt team is, it showed that if Pitt needs to win a close game, it will not have to solely rely on the instant offense created by either of Jamarius Burton or Blake Hinson.
The key stretch and the lift from Sibande came when he scored 10 of Pitt's 12 points and 10 of the game's overall 18 points, which helped Pitt sustain a five-point lead with 4:17 to play. All 12 of Sibande's points came in a span of 7:24 in the second half after he missed his two attempts in the first half.
Pitt (18-7, 11-3 ACC) is now 11-1 overall when Sibande scores 10 or more points. The Panthers' 11 ACC wins are the most since the 2013-14 season, Pitt's first within the ACC.
"It just showed that my teammates believe in me and allow me and put me in a position to be effective and scoring the ball when we needed to," Sibande said. "I'm just happy I'm able to help. ... Just getting in there and play, play our game, and get the job done. At the end of the day we came in here to get a dub, came here to get a win, so that was our objective from the start of the game. I just knew -- when I knew Nelly went down -- I knew to step in and attack it as best as I can."
Sibande (two steals) was also instrumental in locking down Florida State's Jalen Warley, who posted a career-high 23 points but bucketed just nine in the second half. The Panthers got a complete effort from its bench, which out-paced Florida State's in scoring 18-8 and included a six-point, five-rebound effort from Guillermo Diaz Graham.
"I thought our bench guys, specifically Nike and Guillermo were unbelievable for us," Capel said. "They gave us a big, big lift, and really made some big baskets and some big plays for us. ... These guys are very confident, they believe in themselves, they believe in each other, we believe in them, and sometimes as a coach you've got to have guys just step up and make plays, and that's what we did. For Nike to come in and make those two shots that he made from the top of the key, to make some good passes for Jamarius (Burton), to make passes, to make plays, to find Greg (Elliott) for the 3, for Greg to step up and make the 3, Blake (Hinson) to make the 3."
We are slowly, but surely, getting to the juncture where the discussion moves from if Pitt is an NCAA Tournament team versus talking about what seed it could potentially get. By now, the loss to Florida State from Jan. 21 is avenged, Saturday resulted in a Quadrant 3 road win with respect to the NCAA NET Rankings, and the Panthers should at last crack the Top 50 in those rankings with this victory. Pitt could even venture into the Associated Press Top 25 by the start of next week, after finishing in 30th in the most recent poll. Pitt has not been ranked in the AP Poll since January of 2016.
"The ACC, every win's a tough win," Sibande said. "Every win is a big win for us, so it's exciting that we tied the program's history, but we've got bigger goals, and we just want to maximize our goals and take the next step. We're not focused on too much in the future, we're just focused on the next step, next game."
Here is your teaser statement for Sunday's follow-up column: Capel should be odds-on favorite for ACC Coach of the Year by this point.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Pitt's 13 offensive rebounds were the most in a game since its 14 at Syracuse Dec. 20. Federiko Federiko had seven offensive boards to his six defensive boards. Pitt shunned the Seminoles on the offensive glass, 15-12, and overall, 36-35.
"It was big," Burton said. "They way they play defense, they switch, so if the (center) is guarding me, even if I miss, that gives our bigs an opportunity to get the rebound because usually there's a smaller guard that's switched out on them. Fede did a great job understanding his advantage, understanding positioning and, also, he's played more minutes, so he probably knows if I drop, he probably knows where I'm going to miss it. So, just understanding, playing with each other, understanding tendencies, things like that, and it showed today."
• With each game the young forwards are playing, Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham and Federiko continue to evolve for the better. Jorge played four key minutes and recorded a steal to close the first half, and Federiko made all four of his free throws, tallied 13 rebounds, and blocked three shots. Federiko has blocked three or more shots in five of his last six games.
Those three will not have to be primary options for this Pitt team, but in games earlier this season where inexperience and some rawness showed and cost Pitt a possession or a basket, those three forwards have played solid basketball for Pitt, and that only adds another layer to how dangerous this team could be once tournament time rolls around.
"For the twins, I feel like they're growing their wings while flying," Burton said. "Through their experience each and every game they're getting better. We love the energy that they provide, and everything that they do on the floor is big for our team."
• Pitt is now 2-0 while wearing the black uniforms with the "Script P" on the front. Saturday marked the first instance Pitt wore the alternates since its game at Syracuse. (I saw backlash on Twitter for the jersey combination, but I like them, personally.)
Among jersey combinations, Pitt is identically 6-3 while wearing either royal or white "Script Pitt" uniforms, and it is 4-1 in the "Block Panthers" gold uniforms.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE 5s
• Pitt: G Nelly Cummings, G Greg Elliott, F Jamarius Burton, F Blake Hinson, C Federiko Federiko.
• Florida State: G Jalen Warley, G Caleb Mills, G Darin Green Jr., G Matthew Cleveland, F Cameron Corhen.
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
• The Panthers are back at The Pete Tuesday to oppose Boston College at 9 p.m.
THE CONTENT
• Visit the Pitt team page for more coverage from the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. You can listen to the latest episode of the H2P Podcast below.
