DURHAM, N.C. — Pitt head coach Jeff Capel helped lead his team to an 80-76 win upset win over No. 7 Duke on Saturday night. It marked the first win for Capel, a Duke alum, as an opposing coach inside of Cameron Indoor Stadium. Following the game, the Pitt coach met with the media. Here is a complete rundown of everything he had to say.

Capel: First of all, I’m really proud of our guys. To come down here in this hostile environment, against this outstanding team to play like we played. But to fight. We looked like the team we were a month ago. We’ve struggled, but our guys had poise, toughness, and we were together. Guys stepped up and made some big-time plays and we got off to a great start. We weren’t afraid of the moment and we were not afraid of the environment. Obviously we have great respect for this program and this team, but really proud of our guys for finding a way to win.

Jeff, eleven days ago they out-rebounded you and outscored you in the paint and you turned both of those around tonight. What went into that?

Capel: We looked like the team that we were about a month ago. I think our spirit got broken a little bit, our confidence. We had really good days of preparation for this, maybe more mental than anything. We were just excited about an opportunity to play again, to play against them, to play in this environment. You have to be tough and together to have a chance here and our guys really stepped up to the challenge.

What can you say about Blake tonight?

Capel: He was terrific. I thought for the most part, he had poise. He got revved up there a little bit and we had to try to get him back in neutral. He loves these type of environments and he was able to make some shots. It was good for us to see the ball go in the basket by him and by all of our guys.

What went into the plans to limit Filipowski?

Capel: We wanted to go with Federiko early to start. We wanted to try to be a little bit more physical with him. He’s kicked our butt every time we’ve played him from last year here, the ACC Tournament last year, and obviously the first game. Our guys collectively as a group, we stepped up to the challenge. I mean, look he’s probably the best player in our league, player of the year, and unbelievably talented. It looked like he rolled his ankle a little bit, so maybe that slowed him down. But our guys fought and did a good job. I wish we wouldn’t have left him on that three at the end, but he’s an outstanding player.

Are you able to believe how much Jaland has grown up in the last month or so?

Capel: Yea, I am just because I knew he was a good player. Sometimes, especially for a freshman, it takes a little bit. He was a little bit banged up and we talked about it. He had an issue in the summer, got hurt, and was out for a little bit. I think he’s gotten healthy and has gotten his pop back, but obviously the game experience, playing time, all those things have helped him grow in his confidence.

You talked after the Syracuse game about being more mature, do you think they showed that tonight?

Capel: Yea, I did. Our guys did. You have to be mature to come in here and have a chance.

With all of your history here, what does this win mean to you personally?

Capel: Look, I’m happy for my players. It doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s an ACC win, it means a lot because it’s an ACC win. I don’t have any personal feelings where it is personal for me against Duke. This place means a lot to me, it always will, I’m just glad we got an ACC win. I’m glad we got a win. We haven’t felt this way in a little bit and I’m glad, probably most importantly, that the spirit of our team, how it was when we started this journey back in July and how it was until maybe the first week of January. It looked like the team that we were earlier in the season.

Did you get an explanation on the technical on Blake?

Capel: No.

How did you see your team’s response to physicality in this game?

Capel: Well, I thought we did all the way around in every phase of the game: how we started. I thought we ended the half. We had leads, they came back and took the leads and we didn’t blink. Guys stepped up and made big plays every time they took a lead. We showed toughness, maturity, and growth.

How do you bottle this up going into next week?

Capel: Well, we’ve got to enjoy tonight. We’ll head down to Atlanta tomorrow and play against another outstanding team. Tough. Damon Stoudamire has done a great job. We’ll start thinking about that tomorrow. We have to be tough, together, and our spirit has to be right. If we do that, then we’ll give ourselves a chance.

What led to Fede getting the start?

Capel: We wanted to go with something different. Obviously what we’ve been doing at the starts of games have not been good. Fede had two really good days of practice. Obviously he’s a little more physical than Guillermo and we knew we had to have some physicality to guard Filipowski. It gives us an opportunity to start the game where we didn’t have to double. With G, a lot of times against him we have to double. Those were the things that went into it and we thought we were hopeful it would give Fede a boost. He’s not been, and he knows it. He hasn’t had the same pop and energy that he had all for us last year and we thought and hoped this would ignite him. I thought it and hopefully we can keep it going.

Ish Leggett had a 11 points and had some veteran moments in this one…

Capel: He made some big plays for us, whether it was driving and finishing through contact, got on the floor for a loose ball, Ish stepped up and all of our guys really stepped up and did some good stuff.