Any small chance that Pitt had of reaching the NCAA’s went down the drain with the team’s loss to Georgetown in the second round of the Big East Tournament.
The disappointing thing for Pitt was that they played fairly well for much of the first half, leading by six with about six minutes to play. Things quickly derailed, though, as the Hoyas took control with a huge 16-2 run to close the half. That stretch, more than any other, was perhaps the reason for Pitt’s downfall. Scoring only two points in that span really put the Panthers behind and the deficit was too much to make up.
The Panthers tried, though. They pulled to within two early in the second half after trailing by eight, but never got any closer. The lead grew with each missed Pitt shot and the Panthers were soundly defeated by a Georgetown team that they beat earlier this season.
Pitt had no answer for Henry Sims, who went for 20 points and 13 rebounds, but that was only part of the problem. The Panthers had yet another sub-40-percent game shooting the ball and equally disappointing was the fact that the bench didn’t show up at all. In 54 minutes of action, the reserves combined for a meager five points and five rebounds without tallying an assist. That’s a modest output for a single player, let alone an entire unit. Pitt’s bench has been far too inconsistent this season and Wednesday’s game was another example of that.
With the NCAA Tournament out of the picture, the Panthers will now sit and wait to see if they’ll be invited to the NIT. At only one game over .500 on the season, that’s no guarantee.
For more on Pitt and the game, check out SB Nation blog, Cardiac Hill.