Pitt HC Jeff Capel Addresses Loss to No. 4 Duke

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers fell to No. 4 Duke at the Petersen Events Center, as head coach Jeff Capel saw his team lose to his alma mater again.

Pitt battled hard early on and led late in the first half, before Duke built a lead, that they couldn't seriously threaten, even with numerous attempts in the first half.

The Panthers fall to 9-19 to the Blue Devils all-time, 3-12 since joining the ACC and 2-7 under Capel in his eight seasons in charge of the program.

Capel, who played and coached at Duke, spoke to the media about the loss and what led to them coming up short.

Jeff Capel Press Conference After Duke Loss

Opening Statement

“...Proud of my team for how we fought. We were ready to play. We had it at six at half. I didn’t think we ended the half well. Think it was a two-point game with three-and-a-half minutes left and we didn’t end the half well.

To start the second half, we missed a layup, we missed two free throws, we had a wide open three that we missed and that turned into points for them, where they were able to extend the lead to 11.

“I loved how we responded out of the timeout, we got it down to five, but we had too many mistakes, too many ‘my bad’s’, that when you’re playing against a really good team like that, you have to eliminate those and we didn’t do that.

“But I’m proud of our fight. We were in a position. It was a 10-point game. If we make a couple more shots, make a couple layups, make a couple free throws, maybe we put a little game pressure on them, but kudos to them for stepping up and making big plays. Obviously Cameron Boozer’s a very, very good player and Isaiah Evans is also a really good player.

Feb 10, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) handles the ball against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the first half at Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Game plan on Interior Defense vs. Duke Post Players

“I thought the execution of it was really good. In the first half they hurt us on their cutting. We wanted to double, that was our game plan with Boozer, we wanted to double him. They hurt us a couple times in the first half on the cuts. We weren’t there and we showed them at halftime. I thought we did a much better job of that in the second half.”

Struggles With Finishing at the Rim

“We’re in the middle of February. We should know, it’s a contact sport. These guys have been playing basketball long enough to understand it’s a contact sport. We’ve not been good at finishing all year and I hope we can better, but we probably aren’t going to be, just being completely honest.

“It’s the middle of February, I don’t know what our record is, but I know we’re 20-plus games in. You normally are who you are right now. You hope that we can finish better as we move forward, but we’re not good at it.”

3-Point Shooting in the First Half

“Well some of it was that. Some of it was that we knew, they’re big. They’re big at every position and so it’s difficult at times to get to the rim against them and then they went to where they were switching because we were having some success moving the ball and their switching bothered us.

"I thought the first five to six minutes we did a really good job of generating looks. We were moving it and then I thought for a moment we got stagnant and then we did a better job and then we got stagnant at the end of the half.

"Their defense had something to do with it, but we knew coming into this game that we wanted to pop our bigs to try to get some spacing, try to get to the second side and it lead to some shots for us. Some of them were not good shots though."

Barry Dunning Jr.’s Performance

“He made some shots, he did a good job. He hadn’t made shots in a while, so it was good to see some shots. He’s a good player and he had a good night.”

Roman Siulepa’s Defense Assignments

“Roman accepts every challenge. He’s learning a lot, he’s gotten a lot better. He was excited, as were all the guys, to play tonight. Obviously it’s a big challenge, playing against one of the better players in the country. Probably the leader for ACC Player of the Year in Cameron Boozer and I thought he did a nice job.”

Pitt Panthers forward Roman Siulepa — Feb 10, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Roman Siulepa (13) reacts after making a three-point basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half at Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Roman Dealing with Cameron Boozer

“Roman’s pretty strong too. Roman’s a naturally strong guy. He’s not going to back down from anybody. That’s one thing I’m never concerned with Roman, is him backing down from no matter who we play.”

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