3-Pointers: What stood out in Pitt's loss to Virginia Tech?

The Pitt Panthers lost a tough 79-72 game to Virginia Tech on Saturday, which snapped a six-game winning streak. The loss also knocked Pitt out of first place in the ACC standings.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

A frustrating way to lose

Pitt entered this game flying high on a six-game winning streak, and while the team was playing well, I think everyone knew they would probably have a misstep or two along the way. The Panthers’ game with Virginia Tech was certainly a prime candidate for a letdown. The Hokies play well at home, they are a gifted offensive team, and are probably a bit better than their record would indicate.

Las Vegas seemed to agree with all of that as well. The Panthers actually entered this game as 6-point underdogs despite being in first place in the ACC standings. Even knowing it would be a tough battle in a hostile environment, the game was probably more frustrating than anyone could have anticipated.

Pitt just never got it going on offense, and defensively it seemed the team was so worried about Virginia Tech’s shooting, they were carved up on some drives and backdoor cuts repeatedly. The officials also called 44 combined fouls in the game. The constant fouls made it tough for Pitt to go an extended run, because nearly every other possession ended in a whistle.

The Panthers remained in striking distance the entire game, but could not get that one extra shot to fall or get a second stop in a row. Virginia Tech maintained a lead of at least seven points for the final 15 minutes of the game. Each time Pitt seemingly started to make a push, the home team would have an answer.

Good teams lose in February, and I believe Pitt is a pretty solid squad this year. They were probably due for a loss, and they have the senior leadership to respond on Tuesday and the right group of guys to not let this turn into a downward spiral. The Panthers aren’t alone in losing games this late in the year either, as 12 ranked teams have already lost this week, but in Pitt’s case they seemingly have less room for error than other teams.

Pitt’s computer rankings and bracket projections have been on the low side for some time now, and even a ‘Quad 1’ defeat still feels like a missed chance for this team. The Panthers still have opportunities to bolster the resume down the stretch, but again they don’t have the benefit of the doubt some other teams are getting at the moment.

Live by the three…

The old adage of, ‘Live by the three, die by the three’ sort of feels like it applies here to Pitt’s loss on Saturday. Pitt had been on fire from the outside in recent games, but Virginia Tech took the outside shot away from the Panthers on Saturday.

Pitt was just 3-of-18 from three-point range for the game. The Panthers’ leading scorer, Blake Hinson finished with four points and was just 1-of-8 from the floor. He ultimately fouled out and was unavailable for the team’s final push down the stretch, and his presence was missed.

Pitt has other ways of beating teams than just making outside shots, but a lot of that other stuff hinges on the three-point shot opening up the lane. It just wasn’t a factor on Saturday. The Hokies ran Pitt off the three-point line all game. Greg Elliott only got three shots off from three (1-3), and Nelly Cummings missed both of his attempts.

Pitt can win games with Jamarius Burton attacking downhill. He is not a three-point specialist at all and has been Pitt’s best player throughout the season. At the same time, he typically has open shooters to find when the lane closes up and they weren’t there on Saturday.

Burton only had one assist and needed 16 shots to score 15 points. In addition to taking Pitt’s three-point shooting out of the game, the Hokies made Burton work for everything he got on Saturday.

Pitt is not entirely reliant on the three-point shot, but it is a big part of the team’s identity. The Panthers struggled to find consistent sources of offense on Saturday without making three-pointers, and of course other opposing teams will take note of that.

A Change of the outlook

Pitt’s loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday was not entirely unexpected, and losing the game was also not a complete backbreaker for its ACC title hopes and NCAA Tournament resume, but it sure does sting a bit. It will also make these next four games all that more important for Jeff Capel’s team.

Pitt returns home next week to play two final home games against Georgia Tech and Syracuse, a pair of opponents they have already defeated this season. The Panthers will then close out the regular season with a road game at Notre Dame and a potentially huge contest against the Miami Hurricanes.

Pitt entered Saturday in a tie for first place in the ACC with a tiebreaker edge over Virginia. After Saturday’s games, the Panthers are looking up at both the Cavaliers and Miami with Clemson right on their heels.

It changes what needs to happen down the stretch.

Pitt no longer controls its own destiny in the conference, and while it was a jumbled race to begin with, the Panthers certainly lost some favorable footing. The NCAA Tournament resume should not take too much of a hit since this was technically a ‘Quad 1’ loss to the Hokies, but then again, the Panthers have been slighted for over a month now in many of the rankings and metrics.

Moving forward, I think Pitt’s path towards an ACC championship is pretty simple: they need to go 4-0 down the stretch. Period. Virginia is not likely to lose more than one game down the stretch. Clemson still has a few tough games, and Pitt can take care of Miami with a win themselves, but again the Cavaliers probably aren’t losing two more games.

The path to the NCAA Tournament is still a little murky. I do believe if Selection Sunday were to happen tomorrow, the Panthers would be in the dance no questions asked. At the same time, they really can’t afford multiple defeats down the stretch and the loss today opened that door back open just a bit.

In an ideal world, Pitt would like to go into the ACC Tournament on a double bye and not necessarily needing a win in Greensboro to make the tournament. That’s still very attainable for this group, and even likely in my opinion, but the team has to take care of business. Pitt has done a good job of not letting one loss affect the next game for most of the season, and I expect the team will have a nice bounce back performance on Tuesday.