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In the first conference game since December 10, the No. 25 North Carolina Men’s Basketball Team (9-5, 1-2 ACC) upset Pittsburgh (10-4, 3-0 ACC) by a score of 76-74. I was. .<\/p>\n
UNC’s four-game winning streak was marked by a heavy reliance on senior center Armando Bako. The trend continued on Friday, with Baccott’s teammates looking for him in the early post-ups and his preseason National Player of the Year teasing his matchups and clearing the glass.<\/p>\n
Bacot finished the first half with 10 points and 9 rebounds, including 5 offensive rebounds. Combined with a three-point barrage, UNC shot 6-13 from deep in the first half – the Tar Heels took control of the game early on, opening the game with an 11-0 run halfway through the first half, 26-17. led by<\/p>\n
Pitt fought back a bit with a spaced pick-and-roll offense that allowed players to go one-on-one against UNC’s perimeter defenders. Panther guard Jamalius Burton benefited the most, scoring his 15 points in the first half on a 7-9 shooting. Pitt tied the game with his 30 before UNC took the lead again, ending the first half at 40-34.<\/p>\n
UNC continued to create open 3-point shots whenever Pitt double-teamed Baccott at the post. However, no shots were taken and the Tar Heels went 3 to 1-9 in the second half.<\/p>\n
Pitt went on a relentless one-on-one offense to stay in the game, quickly broken through by the Panthers. Guard Nike Sibande turned the tide with a drive to beat junior guard Caleb Love 57-53. Another of his Sibande drives collapsed his UNC defense and Nellie Cummings created an open 3-pointer to make him 57-56.<\/p>\n
Two back-to-back Bako post scores couldn’t stop the momentum in the pits. Burton drove a first-year DiMarco Dunn, luring a contest from Dunn with a shot fake, drawing a foul, and tying the game at 62. <\/p>\n
Burton converted Andwan to give Pitt their first lead since the first minute of the first half. <\/p>\n
With Alum forward Pete Nance out of the game, Pitt forward Blake Hinson was mismatched and hit Dunn with a 3-point jumper to give Pitt a 70-67 lead with 1:28 remaining. .<\/p>\n
UNC failed to respond on the next possession as Love went out of bounds with 1:03 remaining to give the ball back to the Panthers. After exchanging his throws free for 40 seconds, Davis missed his 3-point pull-up. Pitt immediately scored on a fast break to make it 76\u201369 with 9.3 seconds remaining, effectively ending the game.<\/p>\n
Burton’s ruthless rim attack helped him build a career-best 31 points. His success was key to Pitt’s strategy of keeping Baccott out of the paint and extending the floor so the Panthers could attack the rim.<\/p>\n
Bacot continued his work as a scoring outlet for Tar Heels. His 22 points and his 13 rebounds not only tarred his heels in the game, but gravity at the post created his shot open.<\/p>\n
UNC attempted an unlikely comeback with Love scoring a quick 3-pointer, forcing a turnover off an inbounds play and first-year wing Tyler Nickel making it 76-74 in seconds on a quick layup, but It flickered. Too little proved too late.<\/p>\n
The upset dropped North Carolina to 1-2 in ACC play, giving it a four-game winning streak. After losing to Pitt in February, the Tar-Heels wanted revenge, but their postseason hopes for the 2021-22 season were all but dashed, leaving Pittsburgh empty-handed instead.<\/p>\n
Friday was a test of a troubled UNC defense, but the pit offense used the pick-and-roll offense to bully its way to the rim, outscored UNC 42-26 in the paint and scored 17 attempts. was not comparable. free throw line.<\/p>\n
UNC managed only 14 points in the final 12 minutes of the second half until Love’s 3-point shot made it 76\u201372 in the second half. An over-reliance on Baco on offense may be something head coach Hubert Davis is trying to fix.<\/p>\n
North Carolina will try to weather the ACC’s predicament when it returns to Chapel Hill on January 4 at 9:00 PM to face Wake Forest.<\/p>\n