Pitt's bid to upset No. 16 Florida State was denied by the Seminoles on Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center. Florida State claimed a 79-72 win over Pitt to hand the Panthers their fourth straight loss. Pitt has now lost seven of its last eight games.

Florida State was coming off an impressive 21-point win over Virginia Monday night, but the Panthers held strong throughout much of the contest. Pitt only led in the early stages of the game, but kept within striking distance throughout the night. Xavier Johnson's pull-up jumped cut the Florida State lead to 74-70 with 52.1 seconds remaining.

Florida State was able to hold off Pitt by making foul shots following that late threat from the Panthers.

Pitt had won the previous two matchups over Florida State at the Petersen Events Center in the past two seasons, but a third straight upset was not in the cards on Saturday. Florida State has now won eight of its last nine games and is one of the hottest teams in the country. Leonard Hamilton's team now supports a 13-3 overall record and improved to 9-2 in ACC play with the win over Pitt today.

The team played Saturday's game without junior forward Au'Diese Toney, who was ruled out prior to tip-off. Toney was reportedly involved in a car wreck and suffered a concussion as Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. It is not believed to be serious. Pitt missed its second leading scorer and best defender on Saturday.

In Toney's place, senior guard Nike Sibande earned the start and posted the highest scoring output in his Pitt career. The Miami (OH) transfer poured in 12 points and finished with 7 rebounds in 36 minutes of action.

Justin Champagnie once again posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. It was his 11th double-double of the season. Johnson also got into double figures with 16 points, but struggled early from the field. He started the game 0 for 7 and had 1 point in the first half, but found his offense in the second half.

Despite giving up a considerable size advantage, Pitt held its own in the rebounding department, as Florida State held a 43-39 advantage. Florida State's depth wore on Pitt, as nine different players found the scoring column. RaiQuan Gray finished with a team-high 16 points in the victory.

The loss drops Pitt's record to 9-9 on the season, with a 6-7 mark in ACC play. The Panthers next scheduled game is set for Sunday when they travel to North Carolina State. Pitt has the whole week off and multiple games that could be made up, the possibility of adding a midweek game is on the table.