Jeff Capel talked about losing to UNC, finding ways to improve, his reaction to the crowd and more after Saturday’s game. Here’s the full rundown of what he said.

Capel: We lost to a really, really, really good basketball team. They played well, especially that stretch the last 12 minutes of the first half. The very first thing is that I am incredibly grateful of the crowd that we had today, something that we certainly do not take for granted. Very appreciative of the energy that was in the building from all the fans, especially the Oakland Zoo.

I thought we played well - very well - the first eight minutes of the game. We had incredible energy to start. And then we went through a period from like the 11:50 mark until - it was awhile where we could not score. I thought for the first few minutes after that under-12 timeout, I actually thought we got some good looks that we just missed. And then I thought we pressed. I thought in that moment we pressed. I thought that we - instead of us doing it together, I thought it was coming from a good place but we tried to do it where, ‘I have to make a play’ or ‘I have to make something happen.’ And that’s where we have to grow as a team.

When you’re playing North Carolina, the thing that you have to do is, you have to continue to score, because it’s only so much that you can stop them. It’s not even stopping them; it’s trying to slow them down a little bit. And I thought that stretch from the 11:50 mark and the rest of that half, I thought that’s where the game got a little bit out of control for us.

I thought our guys fought. Again, starting three freshmen, I thought we were excited, I thought we were a little bit overwhelmed during that moment. I thought our energy made us a little bit tired. I thought we ran out of gas during that moment, too, and that’s what Carolina does with you. They overwhelm you with talent, with depth, with size, with their speed and they just keep coming at you.

So, a learning experience for us. We’ll use it. We’ll get better. We’ll get back to the drawing board and we’ll start getting prepared for Wednesday.

You had touched on it some but with Carolina’s length and pace they like to play, even before this game how tricky of a matchup did you figure it would be, just given what they do well?
Capel: I knew it’d be a very tough matchup because they’re really good. I mean, they’re one of the best teams in the country, so we knew it would be a really tough challenge for us. But we felt like we were up for the challenge, but we knew with their depth and how fast they play, the pace and they come at you in waves and they can continue to send these high-level athletes in the game - the thing I’ve felt that they always try to do is to wear you down. And I thought that happened to us a little bit today.

It seemed like you had some trouble offensively against their zone, especially with the length that they were able to put at the 2 and the 3 spots.
Capel: Well, I would say every spot. Their zone threw us off-balance a little bit. I thought some of that was our execution but certainly their length, especially on that back line. And then, heck, their point guard is 6’5”, so their length certainly did bother us.

You knew this would be a step up in competition in ACC play. How much do you think your kids got an eye-opening experience and how far do you feel you have to go?
Capel: Well, we have to go a long way. That’s pretty obvious. We have to continue to get better. That’s the thing we’ve talked about from Day One here is trying to get better each day. And to listen to the voices and the things that are going on in our locker room and on what we have to do and not listen to the noise around it. I’m pretty sure there will be stuff written - it will be all that stuff right now, people can think and whatever but it’s not the same Pitt. We’re going to continue to fight. We’re going to continue to get better. And we’ll be prepared for Wednesday.

Trey and Xavier are quick enough to beat their guys off the dribble. Sometimes it seems they get past them and then get ahead of themselves and can’t get under control. How can they do that?
Capel: That comes with experience. That comes with growth. You’re talking about two guys that have played 14 games and played their first conference game against one of the traditional powers in college basketball and one of the best teams in the country this year. So I thought those guys - I mean, Trey got to the free throw line 16 times, I thought that was really good for a freshman to do that. I thought Xavier got in there and made some good plays. That’s something that we’ll learn and as we continue to get better players, we’ll be able to get a lob, we’ll be able to drop it off and a guy will go up and finish and dunk, we’ll be able to hit a guy cutting, we’ll be able to hit a guy in the corner to make a shot. That’s something that we’ll continue to do and as this team continues to get better, we’ll do that.

With some of your struggles against the zone this season, how much do you anticipate other teams trying that against you going forward?
Capel: I can see it. We play very well against zone at times as well. One of my fears for this game - or concerns; I wouldn’t say fears - one of my concerns for this game was us not becoming overwhelmed by the environment. What I mean by that is, it’s the first conference game; there’s going to be incredible excitement. The first conference game is against the University of North Carolina, so for our guys, four guys, this is their first conference game, to play North Carolina. And then it was going to be the first time they run out of this tunnel where the place is full. I know what that’s like as a freshman and I know it can be overwhelming.

I don’t think we were afraid. I think we got off to a really good start, we were confident and then we just hit that spurt right there and that confidence just went away and then we looked a little bit overwhelmed. I don’t think that necessarily had to do with their zone; I think that was us. We had some good looks during that stretch. We just missed them. Now, do I anticipate teams playing a zone? Yeah. I anticipate that. Good teams do that. They mix their defenses up. So we’ll continue to work on it and we’ll continue to hopefully get better. But we’ve been good against zone at times this year; we have to get back to becoming consistently good against it.

How much does that have to do with your front court and getting production from your big guys?
Capel: I thought Terrell did a good job today. We certainly would like for him to finish a little bit better. Love the fact that he went to a left-handed jump hook, quick, decisive move late. Those guys will continue to get better. We’ll continue to work with them. They’ve shown growth from the beginning, from where we started to where we are right now. And they’ll continue to get better for us and that will help us.

You shot 33% on layups as a team. Is that a product of UNC’s length and size or were your parents doing something wrong?
Capel: I think a big part of it is the length and size. Some of it was, we just missed some. In the first half, I thought we had a stretch there where we got to the basket we just, and some of them, we just didn’t have the best touch around the basket to finish. So it’s a combination of both.

2-of-19 from three; did you feel like you were getting good shots and just not making them?
Capel: I thought, at times, we were getting really good shots. I mean, wide open three’s, especially early in the game I thought we got some. We just missed them.

As a coach, what can you do to keep these guys from being overwhelmed?
Capel: Experience. That’s what happens. You have to gain experience in these situations. And continue to teach, continue to work and continue to believe in them.

What do you feel like your guys can take away from a game and a loss like this?
Capel: That we have a lot - you know, we have to work a lot harder to get better. That’s the thing. What we did in the nonconference was good for the nonconference, and we have to play a lot better consistently, not just for a 12-minute period. We have to be able to do it for an extended period of time to put ourselves in position to win in this league.