If the 2021-22 Pitt Panthers are defined by anything, they are defined by their inconsistency.
At various points this season, that inconsistency has been seen on a game-to-game basis, like when Pitt followed its loss to Monmouth with a win over St. John’s or, on the more negative side, when the Panthers followed their win over Syracuse with a pair of brutal road losses at Boston College and Wake Forest.
At other points, the inconsistency has been on full display within games, and that was the case Saturday night when Pitt hosted Virginia Tech at the Petersen Events Center, as the Panthers were nearly run out of the building in the first half before controlling the second half. But the valiant effort at a comeback fell short, and Pitt lost 76-71.
That five-point score doesn’t paint the full picture, though. The Panthers trailed 49-22 at half-time, and Virginia Tech’s 49 points felt like 99 and Pitt’s 22 felt like…well, they felt like 22.
The Hokies were unstoppable through the first 20 minutes, making 18-of-24 baskets (75%) and 10-of-13 (76.9%) from three. They had fewer missed baskets (six) than Pitt had turnovers (nine) before halftime, and while this season has had plenty of contenders for the title of “low point” - the most recent being a 91-75 loss at Wake Forest earlier in the week - the funereal setting of the Petersen Events Center seemed like it could set a new low.
The second half proved to be a different story, though. Virginia Tech hit another three 35 seconds into the half to push its lead to 28 and seemingly add yet another nail to Pitt’s coffin. But the Panthers weren’t dead yet.
More specifically, Jamarius Burton and Femi Odukale weren’t dead yet.
Pitt’s lead guards combined to score 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the first half, but in the second half, they were on fire.
Burton and Odukale hit back-to-back shots to cut the lead to 24; two minutes later, Odukale scored eight consecutive points to get it under 20.
Another Odukale basket got it to 16 before a Burton bucket off an Ithiel Horton steal made it 14, and Onyebuchi Ezeakudo followed that with a steal-and-finish of his own to get the lead to 12.
After a Virginia Tech free throw, Odukale drained a three to get the score to a 10-point deficit for the first time since the 11-minute mark of the first half. The Hokies answered with a basket, but John Hugley’s first basket of the game and four made free throws from Burton and Mo Gueye pulled the Panthers within six at 60-54.
Virginia Tech finally started making baskets at that point, hitting a three and a layup to push the lead back to 11 before Gueye hit a three to get to single digits again.
At the 1:22 mark, the Hokies struck a major blow when Naheim Alleyne sank a three to push the score from 69-61 to 72-61. Pitt wasn’t done: Ezeakudo hit a three to cut the lead to seven and Odukale made his fifth three of the game to get it to four.
But when Virginia Tech guard Hunter Cattoor missed the front end of a one-and-one with less than 20 seconds to play, the Panthers couldn’t grab the rebound. The Hokies survived the ensuing foul-fest and held on - barely - to get the win.
Odukale finished with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three. Burton also got into the 20’s with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Gueye added 13 points and five rebounds.
The Panthers (8-15 overall, 3-9 ACC) will see Virginia Tech again on Monday when the two teams meet in Blacksburg to make up a game that had been rescheduled from Jan. 1.
