The Pitt Panthers entered Saturday’s matchup against No. 9 North Carolina desperate for a quality win.
Needless to say they had no chance of getting one against the Tar Heels.
Brice Johnson scored 19 points and Marcus Paige added 15 as North Carolina dominated the Panthers throughout en route to an 85-64 victory.
Pitt (17-7, 6-6 ACC), who trailed by 16 at one point in the first half, was down 42-29 at the half before cutting the deficit to just seven early in the second half. But the North Carolina (21-4, 10-2) responded with a 13-0 run to put the game away.
James Robinson and Michael Young each scored 15 points to lead the Panthers. After a hot start to the season, the Pitt offense continues to struggle, having failed to reach the 70-point mark for third consecutive game, all losses.
The Panthers have now lost three of four since a 5-2 start in ACC play.
New look lineup- Jamie Dixon decide to try and shake some things up with his starting lineup. For the first time since coming to Pitt, Michael Young was not in the starting lineup as both Young and Sterling Smith came off the bench.
They were replaced in the starting lineup by Chris Jones and Rafael Maia.
Sloppy with the rock- The Panthers biggest problems continues to be turning the basketball over. That bit them in the behind again on Sunday.
The Panthers turned the basketball over 19 times, which the Heels turned into 24 points. It wasn’t the fact that North Carolina played great defense as most of Pitt’s turnovers were unforced.
Sharing the Ball- The Heels showed great balance and shared the basketball, assisting on 26 of 32 made baskets.
North Carolina finished with five players in double figures. In addition to the big games from Johnson and Paige, Justin Jackson (14), Joel Berry II (13) and Isaiah Hicks (10) all scored in double figures.
Where’s the D? – The Panthers have struggled to defend all season and once again it was a major issue.
North Carolina shot 59 percent from the floor, 53 percent from behind the arc and 87 percent from the line as everything came easy.
Meanwhile Pitt shot just 37 percent from the floor and a whopping 38 percent from the charity stripe.
Up Next– Pitt hosts Wake Forest on Tuesday.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
