The Pitt Panthers had a golden opportunity to get off to its best start ever in ACC play since joining the league, but Florida State had other ideas. The Seminoles rode the hot shooting hand of Darin Green Jr. to upset the Panthers 71-64 at the Petersen Events Center.
Green Jr. finished with a game-high 24 points, including a back-breaking three-pointer from NBA range after Pitt had closed the gap to one point with 1:52 remaining in the game. The Seminoles fended off Pitt’s last ditch efforts in the closing minutes to preserve the upset bid and to improve to 7-13 on the season, and 5-4 in the ACC.
Pitt dropped to 13-7 on the year and slipped to 6-3 in ACC play following the defeat on Saturday. It marked Pitt’s second consecutive defeat inside the Petersen Events Center going back to the team’s loss against Clemson earlier this month.
The outcome did not match the start for the Panthers. In fact, Pitt came out red hot in front of a lively crowd. The Panthers raced out to a 15-5 lead early on, but the game changed considerably after that. Florida State went on an extended 20-2 lead to assert control of the game. Over the final 13 minutes of the first half, Pitt was held to just two field goals as the Seminoles mounted a 39-29 halftime lead.
It looked bleak for the Panthers at the break, but Pitt came out and played inspired in the second half. Pitt had a 19-6 outburst coming out of halftime. It was highlighted by a Federiko Federiko dunk on a fast break, and a pair of Blake Hinson 3-pointers to bring the Petersen Events Center to its feet.
Pitt was able to extend the lead to 50-45 with 12:34 left in the second half, but a subsequent 14-4 run for Florida State gave the control back to the ‘Noles for good.
Pitt did have one final push, however. Nelly Cummings connected on a three-pointer and Jamarius Burton’s layup cut the lead to 65-64 before Green’s dagger three-pointer. Florida State closed the game on a 6-0 run.
Pitt was led by Burton, who finished with 20 points and 5 assists. Hinson also got into double figures with 16 points and 9 rebounds, though he struggled from the field shooting just 5-of-12 for the game.
In fact, the story of the game for the Panthers was poor shooting by the entire team. Pitt was just 9-of-28 from the floor in the first half, and shot just 25% from three-point range for the game.
Cummings was 2-of-12 shooting, while Nike Sibande finished 1-of-6 with 4 points after some big performances in recent games. In each half Pitt started hot, but could not sustain it for the entire 20 minutes.
Florida State had a NET ranking in the 200s entering Saturday, which would hand the Panthers their first real bad loss to its tournament resume. Pitt has been on the right side of some recent bracket projections, but that will certainly take a hit after this game.
Pitt will return to action on Wednesday as they host Wake Forest in a pivotal ACC game. The Panthers will be looking to avoid a three-game home losing streak.
