Syracuse star Tyus Battle was sidelined with an injury, Jared Wilson-Frame couldn't miss from the outside, and Pitt started to feel like a minor team of destiny on Wednesday night of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte.
The hot-shooting cooled in the second half, the Orange started to make some shots, and Pitt's mini-March run came to an end with a 73-59 loss to Syracuse. It was the third loss to the Orange this season, and Pitt fell to 14-19 overall to close out the 2018-19 season.
Pitt had won the regular season finale against Notre Dame and pulled an upset over Boston College last night, but the run stopped on Wednesday despite a fast start for the Panthers sparked by superb outside shooting from Jared Wilson-Frame.
The senior guard finished with 24 points powered by eight 3-pointers. Wilson-Frame opened the game going 5-of-6 from three that helped Pitt build a lead that reached to ten points. The Panthers were playing with confidence, but the Orange caught up in the second half.
Buddy Boeheim, son of legendary coach Jim Boehem, got hot to start the second half for Syracuse. He scored eight of his career-high 20 points in an 11-3 run to open the second half. Pitt tied the game at 43 on an Xavier Johnson slam-dunk with 14:04 remaining, but Syracuse outscored Pitt 30 to 16 the rest of the way to secure the win and will advance to take on Duke tomorrow night in the ACC quarterfinals.
Pitt got ten points from senior Sidy N'dir in what is likely his last game as a Panther. Terrell Brown supplied a game-high 13 rebounds, but not much else good happened for the Panthers. Pitt committed 14 turnovers and everyone besides N'dir and Wilson-Frame did not provide much in the way of scoring.
Jeff Capel's first season has come to an end. He inherited a team that went 8-24 overall the year before, and went 0-19 against ACC opponents. Capel quickly tried to change the culture and passed over last year's win total in the non-conference by opening the year with a 10-3 mark.
Pitt did not have to wait long to break into the ACC win column either. The Panthers defeated Louisville 89-86 in just the second conference game of the season. Trey McGowens posted a career-high 33 points in the win. Pitt followed that up five days later with a win over No. 11 Florida State 75-62.
The two early wins caught national attention, and some were even talking NCAA Tournament for this young team. A 13-game losing streak ensued, however. Pitt continued to play in close games, but could not put one in the win column until Saturday.
In the end, Capel started a six-game turnaround in year one and he also developed a core that will be a big part of the team's plans next season. Xavier Johnson earned a spot on the first-team all-ACC rookie team, and will likely be the only player on that list that will be playing college basketball next season.
McGowens was the first Pitt freshmen to score 30 in a game - something that he did twice this season. Those two along with fellow freshman Au'Diese Toney provide optimism for a an even bigger turnaround in 2019-20.
Capel and his staff will now turn their attention towards recruiting. Pitt has two commitments for the class of 2019, but still have more spots to fill before next season begins.
