Pittsburgh’s second-half response in Wednesday night’s 77-72 win over Wake Forest was key and it resulted in its first home Atlantic Coast Conference victory of the season.
The Panthers (13-8, 4-6 ACC) overcame a 12-point hole with an increased energy and defensive effort, and they’ll look to earn their second league victory when reeling Notre Dame (7-14, 2-8) visits on Saturday evening.
“The competitive urgency was central,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said of Wednesday night’s comeback triumph. “We talked at halftime and I told them you’ve played hard, but it requires harder.
“We’ve been physical, but we have to be more physical. This is what the game requires. It’s a message that I’ve been trying to get us to understand all year, being what is required to win.”
The struggling Fighting Irish have dropped five straight and seven of their past eight outings. They permitted Virginia to shoot 24 of 53 (45.3 percent) and turned the ball over to the Cavaliers 18 times in a 65-53 road loss Wednesday night.
“We already have a small margin for error, and I just thought the way they shot the ball and the way we turned it over wasn’t a recipe for success,” Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said.
Interestingly enough, the Fighting Irish field the ACC’s second-best defense in terms of average points allowed (65.3). However, it allowed Virginia a season-high 13 three-pointers in the loss earlier this week.
On the other side of the floor, the Panthers have the third-best defense in the same category, permitting 67.1 points per contest. Blake Hinson paces Pitt in scoring with 18.0 points per game, while Carlton Carrington (13.6) and Ishmael Leggett (12.4) also contribute double-figures.
Carrington has also dished out a team-high 4.4 assists per game.
With 16 points per game, Markus Burton is the only Notre Dame player averaging double-digits as of now.
–Field Level Media
