Pitt's Blake Hinson Takes Over Cameron Indoor Stadium
DURHAM -- Blake Hinson made himself the center of the college basketball world for a night, mostly because he nailed all seven of his 3-point attempts and powered the Pitt Panthers to a win but also because of how he celebrated the victory.
As soon as the buzzer sounded and sealed Pitt's 80-76 upset of No. 7 Duke, Hinson beelined for the student section at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He stood on a table in press row and waved to the opposing fans, drinking in the jeers and middle fingers pointed in his direction. Pitt's boisterous and endlessly confident star made some of the most hallowed ground in college basketball his own.
"This is one of the hardest places to win in the nation," Hinson said. "So that was just an example of you climbing Mt. Everest and just looking at it from up top and saying 'I did it.' It's nothing but respect. You can get mad at it, that's just your opinion, but I see it as respect."
Hinson entered this game having shot just 22.4% from 3-point range over his last seven contests, a devastating slump for someone who bases their game around outside shooting. But Hinson has unshakable confidence in himself that he carried into one of college basketball's most sacred venues.
He proceeded to make every 3-point shot he took. On the move, spot up, step-back, contested, wide open - Hinson explored the catalog of shot types and seemingly sought out more difficult looks at the basket with each attempt. By the end of the night, Hinson had become just the second player in ACC history to make seven or more triples in a game without a miss, joining NC State’s Allerik Freeman who did it against North Carolina in 2018
A rough month of January gave way to a brilliant performance and a lasting image of Hinson facing the hundreds of angry Duke students that he antagonized all night long. There was every reason for both Hinson and Pitt to shrink in the face of such an intense atmosphere and long odds, but they did anything but shrink.
"Blake Hinson is the coldest man you have ever seen in your life," freshman point guard Jaland Lowe said after the game.
Hinson got into foul trouble early and often and his passion and energy even boiled over in the second half, when he picked up a technical foul for jawing with a Duke player. But the environment did not overwhelm Hinson - it fueled him.
"He was terrific. I thought for the most part, he had poise," Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said. "He got revved up there a little bit and we had to try to get him back in neutral. He loves these type of environments and he was able to make some shots. It was good for us to see the ball go in the basket by him and by all of our guys."
As Hinson has struggled so have the Panthers and with him locked in, they played their best game of the year. Pitt goes as Hinson does and he was as good as he's ever been against the Blue Devils.
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