Pitt lost to VCU on Thursday night by a score of 71-67 in the third-place game of the 2022 Legends Classic from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Panthers held a four-point lead with two minutes remaining, but a 9-0 run by VCU late in the game surged the Rams ahead and the Panthers could not match that late push.
With the loss, the Panthers drop to 1-3 on the young season. It is the worst four-game start for Pitt in the five years Jeff Capel has been the head coach.
Here are three things that stood out from Thursday's game.
1) Pitt needs to value the basketball
The biggest thing this Pitt team needs to address is valuing every possession, and right now that just is not what is happening. The Panthers finished the game with 18 turnovers, including 13 from its starting backcourt of Nelly Cummings, Jamarius Burton, and Greg Elliott.
There may not have been a more costly turnover in the whole game then when Elliott threw an ill-advised inbounds pass when Pitt was clinging to a 60-59 lead with 2:01 remaining. He tried to hit Blake Hinson streaking up the sideline to beat the pressure from VCU, but he was baited into a bad pass, which was subsequently picked off. That was one — a big one, but just part of the 18 turnovers that caused Pitt's ultimate demise on Thursday night.
Cummings, Pitt's starting point guard, finished with five turnovers himself and did not record an assist. The Colgate transfer has 15 assists on the season to go along with 14 turnovers. He finally connected on some shots in the second half to add a scoring punch, but Cummings' play has been shaky at best through four games. His confidence seems down, and is also pressing on many possessions.
Pitt shared the ball really well in its opening night win over UT-Martin, but that was not part of the game against VCU on Thursday. Pitt only recorded 8 assists on 24 made baskets in this one in what turned into a disjointed offensive game for the Panthers that focused too much on dribbling rather than ball movement.
The number of turnovers also seems worse when factoring in VCU star point guard Ace Baldwin did not play for the Rams. Without its top guard on the floor, this should have been a matchup Pitt could have exploited, but they could not take advantage.
2) Let the twins play
Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham did not see much playing time in the past two games against West Virginia and Michigan, but they were pressed into action against VCU, and held their own out there. I sort of understand not liking the matchups in those prior two games, but Pitt needed some kind of spark against VCU, and they delivered that at the very least.
VCU is not a great team, but the Rams were picked to finish third in the always competitive Atlantic 10, so they are not a complete pushover either. It was a good test to see how they could hold their own, and I thought they did well.
Jorge posted 10 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes of action, while Guillermo added 7 points and 7 boards in 30 minutes. Neither player was credited with a blocked shot, but they seemed to do a good job of altering shots with their length while also getting their hands out and deflecting passes.
They have a good sense of where to be on the floor and where the ball is supposed to go, but it's clear they have some limitations with their physicality. The twins need to get stronger in order to be effective, but at the same time they have skill, basketball IQ, and they play hard.
I know there is always that cliché in sports when you talk about 'energy' and 'momentum' and while those things aren't necessarily quantifiable on a stat sheet, there did seem to be a wave of momentum when they checked into the game.
Pitt is off to a 1-3 start and really have not shown many promising signs over the course of the past three games, but there some positive signs from the Diaz Graham brothers against VCU. I think ultimately an offseason in a college weight program is what will help them the most, there is a lot of value in playing and being part of the rotation. They weren't used much against Michigan and West Virginia, but I don't think that will happen much anymore, because they earned some minutes after the VCU game. The twins make things happen, they have talent, and letting them play through freshmen mistakes will ultimately make them better down the line.
3) Another game without John Hugley
John Hugley seemed to bump knees with a Michigan player in Wednesday night's game. Of course, Hugley sustained a knee injury in the offseason, and had been out for roughly six weeks and missed the team's first two games.
Hugley left the court and was out of the game for a while, but did return eventually against the Wolverines. I guess in the aftermath of that game, Pitt found it was best to not have him back on the floor on Thursday.
Pitt certainly misses his presence right now.
While Hugley did play on Wednesday, it was clear the talented junior center was not himself. He missed the six weeks, returned to the court late last week, but he did not appear up to game shape just yet. Hugley scored 9 points, but was not very active, and only had 1 rebound in 22 minutes of action.
The story early on this season has been trying to find a reliable source of offense, and they have struggled looking for those answers. Hugley was the team's leading scorer last season and was one of the best big men in the ACC. Pitt knows what they have in him, he can be that top option, and they desperately need that player back on the floor.
If he's not ready, then he's not ready and it is as simple as that. The schedule eases up a bit with games against Alabama State, Fairleigh Dickinson, and William & Mary on the horizon. Those are more forgiving matchups then West Virginia and Michigan, and Pitt should be able to get by without Hugley.
Pitt needs their best player to be the best version of himself. He did not seem ready to play Wednesday, and perhaps taking a little extra time to getting up to game speed will be a better move for the team down the line, rather than rushing him back to the court.
