In the ACC quarterfinal, Pitt faced Wake Forest with Pitt leading 17-12 in the first half. Pitt's Leggett and Hinson performed well, with Leggett scoring 16 points. Pitt continued to dominate, leading 48-35 in the second half. In the ACC semifinal against North Carolina, Pitt initially led 15-8 but faced a tie at 26. Carrington and Hinson were key players. The game remained intense with UNC leading 46-42 in the second half.
Energy level has risen considerably here, following Armando Bacot's breakaway dunk moments ago. UNC is in the midst of a 6-0 spurt to take a 46-42 lead with 13:52 remaining. Timeout, Panthers.
Very smart timeout by Capel. Carrington just committed a blatant offensive foul. Pitt can't buy a bucket. This team needs to regroup. North Carolina leads 46-42 with 13:52 remaining.
Pitt in the same spot it was early 2H at Clemson. Competitive with Hinson being shut down then tries too hard to get him going. If they lock him up, play 4 on 4 with him 30 feet from the basket and take your chances.
And both Pitt bigs now have 3 fouls
Armando Bacot transition dunk? 👀
Took about 25 minutes, but that RJ Davis and-1 layup makes him UNC's first double-digit scorer. Tar Heels retake the lead, 43-42, after the made free-throw.
UNC 40, Pitt 39; 15:51 left. Of note: RJ Davis just made his first 3. Tar Heels need him to get going. Pitt has done a really good job defensively on him (and in general).
First media timeout of the second half and Pitt is down 40-39. Blake Hinson has 2 three-point attempts in the first four minutes - which is 2 more than he had in the first half. Hinson has to keep firing. He will start making them.
Pitt was 5 of 29 from 3 in January home loss to UNC. Panthers 5 of 13 in first half tonight and lead Heels 35-33 in ACC semifinal. Freshman Carlton Carrington with game-high 16 points.
UNC 26, Pitt 26; 3:46 1H. Grown man basketball happening here. Lots of physicality. Both teams shooting the exact same percentage (10-for-25 for each). Carrington now with 13. Cormac Ryan has been trying to slow him down, without much success.
Under-4 timeout and Pitt is in a battle with a 26-26 tie against UNC. Bub Carrington has a game-high 13 points, but the ACC's two leading scorers - RJ Davis & Blake Hinson - have a combined 4 points. Gotta think that won't last.
Final media break of the half. Pitt and North Carolina are tied at 26. Panthers are doing their best to hang around. Tar Heels have the momentum right now.
Pitt 22, UNC 17; 7:58 1H. Tar Heels started 3-for-14 from the field but have made their past four shots. Pitt's Carlton Carrington with nine, and is playing really well. Not backing down from RJ Davis, on either end. He's a streaky scorer. Today, thus far, a scoring day for him.
Under-8 timeout and Pitt is up 22-17, but both of the Panthers' centers - Guillermo Diaz Graham and Federiko Federiko - have 2 fouls. That's concerning with 7:58 left in the first half.
Almost 11 minutes in, and no one for UNC has more than one made basket. Pitt playing with a LOT of physicality defensively.
UNC ended up missing nine straight shots over the span of 4:58, before that Withers touch shot. 13-0 Pitt run. Panthers lead 17-10 at the U12.
First media timeout and it comes with Pitt on an 11-0 run. The Panthers went down 8-4, but three's from Guillermo Diaz Graham (twice) and Zack Austin plus a Jaland Lowe drive has Pitt up 15-8.
Pitt leads North Carolina 15-8 during the first media break (14:17 left in the first half). Guillermo Diaz Graham got the Panthers going with two huge triples off the bench. Pitt has hit its last four field goals. North Carolina hasn't scored in nearly 3 minutes.
Pitt comes out hot ... 3 straight treys to take a 15-8 lead at the first TV timeout. Panther bigs have already picked up 3 fouls. And that could present a problem for them as this goes on.
Pitt on an 11-0 run over the last 2:02 to take a 15-8 lead over UNC early. Panthers are playing with JUICE. Tar Heels not forcing the issue yet.
Pittsburgh is on an 11-0 run and leads top-seeded North Carolina 15-8 with 14:20 to go in the first half.
Oh my goodness. Pitt is on fire right now. A 13-3 run has the Panthers well in control early on.
Starting lineups Pitt (22-10) 1. Bub Carrington 2. Jaland Lowe 3. Blake Hinson 4. Zack Austin 5. Fede Federiko North Carolina (26-6) 1. R.J. Davis 2. Elliot Cadeau 3. Cormac Ryan 4. Harrison Ingram 5. Armando Bacot
Media break. Pitt leads 48-35 with 15:12 left.
Leggett sinks a triple and Pitt takes a timeout. He has without question been the best player for either team today. Panthers lead 46-35 with 16:21 left. Leggett has 16 points.
Final media break of the half. Pitt leads 29-20 with 3:21 until the break. The vets have come to play. Leggett has 11 and Hinson has 10.
Media break. Hildreth ends Pitt's run with an and-1 transition bucket. Panthers still lead 25-16 with 8 min left in the first half.
Media break. Hildreth ends Pitt's run with an and-1 transition bucket. Panthers still lead 25-16 with 8 min left.
13-2 Pitt run over the past 5 minutes
Pitt has opened up a 25-14 lead
Under-12 timeout and Pitt is up 17-12. Ishmael Leggett has a game-high 7 points, Pitt is shooting 7-of-12 and Bub Carrington is doing well guarding Hunter Sallis, who has 0 points on 0/2 shooting. Still no fouls called.
17-12 Pitt after a skirmish between Sallis and Carrington. Pitt shooting 7/12 including 3 3s
Second media break. Outside shots are falling for the Panthers, who lead 17-12 with 11:55 until the half. Backcourt defense has been very good so far. Physical game and Pitt isn't backing down.
First media timeout and Pitt is up 10-9. Efton Reid has 5 points, but Federiko Federiko has not backed away from the contact. Both teams came out with a lot of energy and maybe tension - things are settling in now.
Pitt leads Wake Forest 10-9 at the first media break. Panthers have looked really good on the defensive end. Outside shots are starting to fall, as well. A bit of a sloppy start, but that could just be early game jitters.
Pitt starters in the ACC quarterfinal vs. Wake Forest, Carrington, Lowe, Federiko, Austin and Hinson.
Starting lineups Pitt (21-10) 1. Bub Carrington 2. Jaland Lowe 3. Blake Hinson 4. Zack Austin 5. Fede Federiko Wake Forest (20-12) 1. Kevin Miller 2. Hunter Sallis 3. Cameron Hildreth 4. Efton Reid II 5. Andrew Carr