The margins in college basketball can be slim, and the Pitt Panthers found that out on Saturday afternoon. Pitt dropped a 78-75 decision in overtime to Clemson at the Petersen Events Center, extending its current losing streak to four games. Pitt trailed in this one by 10 points at halftime, but used a furious comeback effort only to fall short in the end. The loss dropped the Panthers’ record to 12-6 on the year, and 3-4 in the ACC.
Pitt was down 55-44 with 12:39 remaining, but something clicked for the Panthers. After getting bombarded by Clemson in the first half from three-point range (10-16), Pitt buckled down defensively, and it spilled over into the offensive end. The Panthers outscored Clemson 36-26 in the second half, and grabbed the lead with 5:43 remaining on Ishmael Leggett triple.
Unfortunately for Pitt, they only made two more field goals in regulation following that bucket.
The game needed an extra five minutes to decide the outcome, but Clemson had the upper hand. With the game tied at 68 in the extra frame, there was a loose ball with multiple bodies on the floor for each team. There was no whistle, and eventually the ball squirted out to Chauncey Wiggins, who buried a three-pointer, which was good enough to hold for the final three minutes.
Jaland Lowe, who finished with 15 points, and Leggett (18 points) drilled threes to cut the deficit down to two points on two occassions after that, but Pitt could get no closer. Chase Hunter, Clemson’s sixth year senior guard, hit a dagger with :14 seconds left to put the game out of reach. Hunter finished with a game-high 20 points, and made five of Clemson’s 14 three-pointers for the game.
Streaking
Pitt’s 2024-25 campaign is going the wrong way all of the sudden. The Panthers have now lost four in a row, the longest losing streak for the program since the tail end of the 2022 campaign where they lost the final five games of the year. Pitt had a disastrous performance on Wednesday in an 82-70 loss against Florida State, and it looked like things were heading that way again, but the Panthers made a run and at times, played well enough to win. However, this is high-level Division-1 basketball with a team that started the year with real expectations, so moral victories feel hollow.
Clemson continues domination
Not only does Pitt have a four-game active losing streak, the Panthers added to a rather dubious number on Saturday. Pitt has now lost 13 in a row to Clemson. Pitt has not defeated the Tigers since March of 2014, and it’s been a clinic ever since. While Pitt has had its lean years in the ACC, it’s a bit ironic this lengthy losing streak is to a program like Clemson, and not one of the premier programs when you think of ACC basketball. For whatever reason, Clemson remains a nut Pitt can’t crack.
Tale of two halves
It’s not that Pitt was a disaster in the first half, but Clemson was shooting it well and the Panthers did not have many answers. Pitt came out engaged and played with energy in the opening minutes, but that eventually wore off, and Clemson slowly started to stretch the lead when that occurred.
Pitt switched some things in the second half, simply played harder, and buckled down defensively and it made all the difference. The Tigers made 14 3-pointers on Saturday, but only four after halftime. There was a better effort to switch, rotate, and contest the outside shots in the second half. Pitt also went with Guillermo Diaz Graham playing center in favor of Cam Corhen, and that lineup sort of sparked the team and the comeback bid. Diaz Graham has struggled of late, but sliding over from the four to center, seemed to do him well. The team also played much better with that alignment on both sides of the ball.
Tight bench…again
In Pitt’s loss to Louisville last Saturday, it felt like the team needed some answers from its bench. Louisville closed the game strong offensively and Pitt seemed gassed. The same group played the final 17 minutes of the game. On Saturday, it did not feel the same way. Pitt had a lineup of six guys that was working well together, and it made sense for Jeff Capel to roll with that group.
Having said that, it leads to some inconsistent roles for guys like Brandin Cummings, Jorge Diaz Graham, and Papa Amadou Kante. All three of those players saw the floor in the first half, and did not add much in their brief stint of playing time. It just appears as though this will be a game by game basis for how the bench is deployed.
Lack of late game execution
Pitt grabbed a 62-61 lead on a Ishmael Leggett three-pointer with a little over five minutes remaining. It completed the comeback and gave Pitt its first lead since 11-9. It felt right then and there, Pitt had to pounce on the moment and finish strong, except the Panthers only made two field goals after that in regulation.
Lowe’s late-game layup with :19 seconds left was Pitt’s only basket in the final three minutes of regulation. While you have to credit Clemson’s defense, it also felt like a missed opportunity to not just find a little more scoring before it even got to overtime. Plus, when it got to the extra frame, there were several ill-advised shots as Pitt was outscored 12-9 in OT.
Sam’s Day
On Saturday, Pitt honored legend Sam Clancy, as he became the fifth player in program history to have his jersey retired. Clancy’s No. 15 now hangs in the waters alongside other Pitt greats Don Hennon, Billy Knight, Brandin Knight, and Charles Smith. The Pittsburgh native averaged double figures for four seasons, is Pitt’s all-time leading rebounder, and managed to get drafted both by the NBA and the NFL. Clancy is known for his pro football career, but around Pitt, he should be known as one of the school’s best basketball players ever, and now that is official.
Obviously with any ceremony like that, a win is the only missing piece to making the day complete. In any event, Sam Clancy got his praise on Saturday, and deservedly so.
Up next
Pitt is off during the week, and will not play again until next Saturday January 25th. The Panthers will be in Syracuse to take on the Orange in the Dome for a 12:30 start. Pitt is riding a four-game losing streak, and will look to bounce back against a struggling Syracuse team under second year head coach Adrian Autry.
