Pitt at Florida State Takeaways: Panthers Close in Style
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers emerged victorious from the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida. They exacted revenge from the Florida State Seminoles after rallying late in the second half to turn a tight contest into a convincing win behind a late surge from their veterans. The bench was invaluable was well as the Panthers solidified their spot at the top of the ACC with an 83-75 victory.
Unforced Errors
While the Panthers finished the game strong, they were unable to build greater than an eight-point advantage for the first 37 minutes of the game. Every time Pitt had a chance to make the game a laugher, they committed a poor turnover or took a bad shot. Their defense was largely good enough to earn a double-digit lead but the offense wasn't good enough to expand on it and put the game away early.
The Panthers were atypically sloppy on that end but luckily for them, those woes disappeared by the final three minutes. Right as Florida State was mounting their most serious counter of the game, Pitt responded and took control of the contest by executing cleanly with the ball in their hands.
Closing in Style
The Seminoles had chipped away gradually, trimming what had been as large as an eight-point deficit and even taking the lead with 13:12 remaining in the game. Some excellent individual defense and timely shot-making helped them get back to within one with under six minutes remaining as well. The Panthers were on the verge of surrendering another bad loss to Florida State before the team's oldest players took control.
But like it frequently has this season, Pitt's experience shone through in important moments. The Panthers' most experienced veterans, Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande, went into attack mode as the Seminoles drew close.
With less than 10 minutes remaining and Pitt leading by just two, Sibande hit a pull-up 3-pointer. Then he hit another. Then Burton drove for a layup through contact and Sibande followed with a floater high off glass. Another Sibande layup and Burton free throw preceded a 3-pointer from another veteran, Blake Hinson, and the Panthers added seven points in seven minutes to a lead they did not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Pitt Has a Center of the Future
When Federiko Federiko committed to the Panthers last spring, the former junior college player who West Virginia dropped late in the recruiting process was expected to be little more than a developmental piece that was a year or more away from contributing in a meaningful way. But ever since he's taken over the starting center position while John Hugley takes a season away from basketball to work on his mental and physical health, he has been one of the most valuable players on the roster for Pitt.
Against Florida State, Federiko flirted with a double-double, scoring eight points, making all four of his free throws, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking two shots. It was clear when he went to the bench with foul trouble that his team loses a lot when he is not on the floor. His development has been rapid and steady as he's grown from fringe backup to an ACC All-Defensive Team candidate, emerging offensive threat and a quietly key cog in the Panther machine. His job is relatively simple on any given night - rebound, defend and finish at the rim - and he does it at an extremely high level.
Bench Lifts Panthers in Second Straight Game
After the reserves scored 41 points in a blowout win over Louisville, the Panthers got another huge lift from their bench in this game. The same quartet of Sibande, Nate Santos and Jorge and Guillermo Diaz Graham combined for zero points, 0-2 shooting from the field, four rebounds, one assist, three fouls and three turnovers in 17 combined minutes in the first half but were much improved when the team needed them in the most.
In the second half, Sibande and Guillermo Diaz Graham combined for all 18 of the bench points - 10 more than the Florida State reserves - on 7-11 shooting. With Nelly Cummings on the bench for most of the second half and Federiko saddled with foul trouble, those two gave the Panthers crucial, productive minutes.
Owning the Offensive Glass
Against an athletic and big Seminole front court, the Panthers hit the offensive glass hard. There were times when their shooting hands went ice cold - like their 1-10 finish shooting 3-pointers in the waning minutes of the first half - but being able to both turn offensive rebounds into second chance points was necessary to keep their heads above water.
Federiko led the way with seven offensive boards and Guillermo Diaz Graham chipped in three. Pitt won the battle for the offensive glass 15-12 and was +12 in second chance points.
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